The most common symptom of LED (and diode laser) failure is the gradual lowering of light output and <answer>loss of efficiency</answer>. Sudden failures, although rare, can also occur. Early red LEDs were notable for their short service life. With the development of high-power LEDs the devices are subjected to higher junction temperatures and higher current densities than traditional devices. This causes stress on the material and may cause early light-output degradation. To quantitatively classify useful lifetime in a standardized manner it has been suggested to use L70 or L50, which are the runtimes (typically given in thousands of hours) at which a given LED reaches 70% and 50% of initial light output, respectively.
What is a symptom of LED failure?
loss of efficiency