A white paper discussion of LED flashlight design.
It covers the optical, thermal, electrical, mechanical and
interface issues involved in designing a flashlight with
LEDs. The paper also discusses how the human visual
system works and how that impacts the flashlight design.
September 2004.
Cyalumes and other chemical
light sticks have many characteristics that make them seem
ideal as a backup light source. However, they cannot be
trusted to produce light when you need it most.
September 1999.
A historic account of the Action Light project including a
look at older technology designs. April 1999.
Using the new Osram Dragon LEDs for bi-color lights
The new Osram Dragon-series LED emitters use a red LED for the
ESD protection diode - an interesting fact that the specification
sheet dated February 16, 2007 fails to mention. Further,
the specification sheet states in the Maximum Rating section
that the LED is not designed for continuous reverse operation.
However, a clever application of this "feature" would be
in a flashlight that provides power in the forward direction for
white light and power in the reverse direction for red
light. The Osram Ceramos LED emitter is another
candidate for this application as are any other current or
future devices that share these characteristics.
Article coming soon.