Light-emitting diode superior for illumination in terms of color rendering, whereas one cannot appreciate the color of red or green objects illuminated only by the yellow (and remaining blue) wavelengths from the YAG phosphor. The first white LEDs were expensive and inefficient. However, the light output of LEDs has increased exponentially, with a doubling occurring approximately every 36 months since the 1960s (similar to Moore's law). The latest research and development has been propagated by Japanese manufacturers such as Panasonic, Nichia, etc. and later by Korean and Chinese factories and investment such as: Samsung, Solstice, Kingsun, and countless others. This trend is
Light-emitting diode developed a white LED with luminous efficacy of 150 lm/W at a forward current of 20 mA. Cree's XLamp XM-L LEDs, commercially available in 2011, produce 100 lm/W at their full power of 10 W, and up to 160 lm/W at around 2 W input power. In 2012, Cree announced a white LED giving 254 lm/W, and 303 lm/W in March 2014. Practical general lighting needs high-power LEDs, of one watt or more. Typical operating currents for such devices begin at 350 mA. These efficiencies are for the light-emitting diode only, held at low temperature in a lab. Since LEDs