Systematic design of the color point of a white LED

Lighting is a crucial technology that is used in our daily lives. The introduction of the white light emitting diode (LED), which consists of a blue LED combined with a phosphor layer, greatly reduces the energy consumption for lighting. Despite the fast-growing market, white LEDs are still being designed with slow, numerical, trial-and-error methods. Here we introduce a radically new design principle that is based on an analytical model instead of a numerical approach. Our model predicts the white LED's color point for any combination of design parameters. In addition, our model provides the reflection and transmission coefficients of the scattered and re-emitted light intensities, as well as the energy density distribution inside the LED. To validate our model, we have performed extensive experiments on an emblematic white LED and found excellent agreement. Our model provides for a fast and efficient design, resulting in reductions of both design and production costs.