Solar radiation influences virtually all biological process on earth. Yeasts, the microbial driver of ethanol fermentation, evolved on the surface of vegetation and had to adapt to survive photonic assault. Past research has demonstrated that white light affects yeast metabolism along with the ability to entrain circadian rhythms, although no known genetic mechanism accounts for this. High intensity narrow wavelength light-emitting diodes were employed to illuminate synthetic cultures under fermentation. Multiple colors along the visible spectrum were used, corresponding to the peak absorbance wavelengths of Saccharomyces sp. yeast. Impacts in primary metabolite evolution were found, dependent on wavelength. Longer wavelengths produced higher amounts of acetic acid and glycerol; shorter wavelengths produced more ethanol. Because past research showed light timing had pronounced effects, illumination schemes on the scale of milliseconds to hours were tested for ethanol production. Light schemes on the scale of enzymatic reactions, yeast generation times, and circadian rhythms produced the most ethanol. Discrete blocks and duration of illumination were used to elucidate where light had the most influence over yeast metabolism and fermentation. Late lag phase and mid log phase illumination impacted ethanol fermentation more than any other period of time. Light effects were tested on apple juice to see if they extended from synthetic media to natural products. Significant impacts on ethanol production were discovered and flavor/aroma impacts were noted. Light, color, intensity, and timing have all been shown to control and affect fermentation with both positive and negative effects established. / Doctor of Philosophy / Sun light influences virtually all biological process on earth. Yeasts, the microbial drivers of ethanol fermentation, evolved on the surface of vegetation and had to adapt to survive destructive effects of the sun. Past research has demonstrated that white light affects yeast metabolism along with the ability to develop growth cycles similar to day / night patterns, although it is currently not believed this possible due to the biology of yeast. High intensity single color light-emitting diodes were employed to illuminate laboratory formulated cultures under fermentation. Multiple colors along the visible spectrum were used, corresponding to the peak absorbance wavelengths of Saccharomyces sp. yeast. Green/yellow/red wavelengths produced higher amounts of acetic acid (vinegar) and glycerol; blue and ultraviolet wavelengths produced more ethanol. Because past research showed light timing could change how yeast grow and consumed carbohydrates, light timing on the scale of milliseconds to hours were tested for ethanol production. Light timing on the scale of milliseconds, hours, and daylight cycles produces the most ethanol. Discrete blocks and duration of illumination were used to find where during fermentation light had the most impact. It was found that from immediately after the beginning of fermentation to the middle of fermentation is where yeast responded the most strongly. Light effects were tested on apple juice to see if they extended laboratory cultures to natural products. Significant changes in the amount of ethanol produced were discovered and changes in the taste and smell of fermented apple juice were noted. Light, color, intensity, and timing have all been shown to control and affect fermentation with both positive and negative effects established.

This thesis seeks to gain a better understanding on operating characteristics of the three primary color light emitting diode (LED). By applying direct, pulse and sinusoidal currents with dimming function on red, green, and blue LEDs, respectively, the operating characteristics are investigated, including electrical characteristics and their effects on the light efficiency, spectral power distribution, chromaticity on each color LED and the resultant color gamut. The analysis reveals that the illumination characteristics intimately relate to the driving current. LEDs that are driven by pulse currents with pulse-width-modulation (PWM) dimming have less color shift than those driven by direct and sinusoidal currents with amplitude modulation dimming. However, the problematic color shifting is not acceptable when LEDs with pulse current are dimmed at a lower level. Based on the investigation results, a dimming scheme with PWM and pulse- amplitude-modulation (PAM) is proposed to correct the chromaticity and hence to improve the color gamut.

This thesis proposes a novel driving circuit of the RGB light emitting diodes (LEDs) for the back-light source of the liquid crystal display. In stead of employing three dc-to-dc converters, a fly-back converter with three secondary windings is used to drive RGB-LED light bars. By adjusting the duty-ratio, the fly-back converter provides compromised voltages to RGB-LEDs in accordance with the operating modes of dimming control, so as to retain current magnitudes within the acceptable values. LEDs of three colors are dimmed by regulating the duty-ratios of three active power switches individually. By changing the ratio of the average currents of the three primary color LEDs, the color temperature range of driving can reach the requests of dimming control. As compared with a consumer product using the conventional driving circuit, the proposed circuit is obviously much simpler with less components and a higher efficiency.

A high efficiency driver circuit is proposed for Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps with dimming feature. The current regulation is accomplished by processing partial power of the power conversion circuit so that a high overall efficiency can be realized. The detailed description and analysis of circuit operation are provided. The dimming feature can be accomplished by means of linear current regulation, pulse-width modulation (PWM) or double pulse-width modulation (DPWM). Based on the circuit analyses and derived equations, a laboratory circuit is designed for an LED lamp which is composed of 40 high-brightness white LEDs in series. The performances with three dimming schemes are compared from the measured results. LEDs dimmed by DPWM have less color shift than those dimmed by linear current regulation and PWM. On the other hand, the dimming scheme with linear current regulation has the highest light efficiency over the entire dimming range. The circuit efficiency can be as high as 95.5% at the rated output and deteriorates slightly to 90.5% as the lamp is dimmed to 10% of the rated power.

This thesis proposes a dimming approach with Double Pulse Width Modulation for equalizing the light output of the back light with light emitted diodes (LEDs) for large scale outdoor liquid crystal displays (LCDs). The approach compensates the difference among the LED light bars by adjusting the power outputs of converters according to the feedback of light strength from light sensors. With the proposed Double Pulse Width Modulation method, local brightness adjustment on the light bars can be made to provide a uniform light output and the dimming function for LCD can be retained. Experiments results made on a 46¡¨ LCD with four LED light bars demonstrate that the double pulse-width- modulation can provide uniformly in the light bar output. The experimental results show the proposed Double Pulse Width Modulation (DPWM) method can alleviate the problem from divergence of the light bars and thus can generate more uniform light output on LCDs.

Master of Science / Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science / Raphael A. Yunk / Sustainable design and green engineering practices have become a priority in the architectural design industry over the past few years. Energy codes and standards have become more stringent as energy costs rise and buildings become larger, consuming more energy and having a larger impact on the environment. One major area for improvement to meet these new requirements is in the lighting area. Kansas State University (KSU) in Manhattan, KS has had the same campus walkway lighting system for over 50 years and it does not meet the current energy codes and standards. This paper will perform a case study of the current walkway lighting system on the KSU campus, specifically focusing on the Quad area and applying the same principles to the entire campus. The illumination and fixture distribution characteristics will first be established and analyzed to determine an accurate baseline for later comparison. Issues regarding the illumination, efficiency, aesthetics, maintenance, and landscaping will be addressed once the current conditions are established. Lighting technology has changed dramatically in the past year with the development of high efficiency fluorescent, induction, and light emitting diode (LED) lighting. New LED technology has proven to be the most efficient and has been adapted to create outdoor LED fixtures that could help KSU surpass the current energy standards and improve the overall quality of light to correct some of the current issues the existing lighting creates. A full analysis of the illumination, efficiency, aesthetics, and economic feasibility will be performed. The economic analysis will compare existing maintenance and energy costs to that of the first-cost with maintenance, and energy costs to determine an estimated payback. Once the analysis is complete, future options for KSU to implement new lighting technology will be discussed. By creating a more environmentally conscious campus, using high efficiency lighting, KSU could set an example for other universities to pursue sustainable technology and design.

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2014-09-25T20:32:22Z No. of bitstreams: 3 Dissertacao_JLFB_VFinal.pdf: 18601269 bytes, checksum: ec6c9955a2f1d95120cab2f797232e97 (MD5) Capa Dissertacao_JLFB_VFinal.pdf: 4769532 bytes, checksum: 3d15c52d57be870999449e2a7b78fbb3 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-09-26T11:57:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 3 Dissertacao_JLFB_VFinal.pdf: 18601269 bytes, checksum: ec6c9955a2f1d95120cab2f797232e97 (MD5) Capa Dissertacao_JLFB_VFinal.pdf: 4769532 bytes, checksum: 3d15c52d57be870999449e2a7b78fbb3 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-09-26T11:57:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 Dissertacao_JLFB_VFinal.pdf: 18601269 bytes, checksum: ec6c9955a2f1d95120cab2f797232e97 (MD5) Capa Dissertacao_JLFB_VFinal.pdf: 4769532 bytes, checksum: 3d15c52d57be870999449e2a7b78fbb3 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-14 / The purpose of this work is to present a methodology for optimizing the geometry of the Light Emitting Diode (LED) secondary lens, in non-imaging applications, which focuses on the distribution of illuminance on a target plane. The simulation of Ray Tracing is produced by stochastic method and the optimization process based on heuristic search interacts with Ray Tracing to nd the optimized parameters of the LED secondary lens geometry. / O propósito deste trabalho e apresentar uma metodologia para otimiza ção da geometria da lente secund ária de Light Emitting Diode (LED) para aplica ção em iluminação, tendo como enfoque a distribuição da iluminância sobre um plano alvo. A simulação do Ray Tracing e produzida através do m etodo estoc astico e o processo de otimização interage com o Ray Tracing através de um m étodo heur ístico na busca dos parâmetros otimizados da geometria da lente secundária do LED.

This thesis proposes a high efficiency driving circuit for multiple light emitting diode (LED) lamps with dimming feature. The driving circuit consists of essentially a high-frequency half-bridge series resonant inverter with multiple output transformers, on which primary windings are connected in series, while secondary sides are loaded by LED lamps rated at different powers with different turn ratios. By controlling the frequency of the inverter, the resonant current as well as the lamp current can be regulated simultaneously. On the other hand, the LED lamps can be dimmed individually by the associated dimming switches with integral cycle control. The tactful circuit ensures a high circuit efficiency owing to less conducting losses and zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operation of the active power switches of the inverter and zero current switching (ZCS) operation of the dimming switches. Two prototype circuits designed for 60 W three RGB LED lamps and 50 W five white light LED lamps have been built and tested to verify the analytical predictions. Experimental results demonstrate that the driving circuit can operate the LED lamps at a high efficiency with a wide dimming range. The lamp power can be dimmed to 10% with frequency control, while whole dimming range can be achieved with integral cycle control. The circuit efficiency with integral cycle control is relatively higher than that with frequency control. The measured efficiencies for the two designed circuit are 93% and 90%, respectively, under the rated powers.

With rapid development of light emitting device, the detection techniques of semiconductor are more and more important, which include time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) and optical beam induced current (OBIC) microscopy. In this thesis, we realize the carrier behaviors of active region with multiple quantum wells (MQWs) by these microscopies, and the samples are light emitting diodes (LEDs). However, PL intensity of LEDs increase but OBIC not due to external field compensates, on the other hand, reducing PL lifetime indicates the response time of device shorter with higher reverse bias.

Grâce à leur haute efficacité et leur durée de vie plus longue, les LED sont de plus en plus utilisées pour l’éclairage, et particulièrement depuis ces dernières années, pour l’éclairage public. Toutefois, le spectre d’émission d’une LED diffère de celui d’une ampoule à incandescence ou à décharge, avec notamment des longueurs d’onde dont l’amplitude est plus élevée dans le domaine du bleu. Il a été démontré que ces longueurs d’onde bleues réduisent la sécrétion de mélatonine, une hormone qui, en plus de ses propriétés anti-oxydantes et anti- cancérigènes, permet de réguler l’horloge biologique du corps humain. La carence de mélatonine peut provoquer des états de fatigue et de stress, pouvant conduire dans certains cas à la dépression. Les longueurs d’onde rouges et proche-IR issues d’éclairages LED ou incandescent ont également des effets négatifs sur l’environnement, puisqu’elles perturbent les cycles de la végétation, comme la photosynthèse. Ces problèmes de santé publique sont connus des autorités, si bien qu’elles imposent des normes pour réduire l’émission de longueurs d’onde bleue, rouge et proche-IR issues de l’éclairage public (ex. norme BNQ 4930-100 au Québec). Dans ce projet, nous proposons des filtres interférentiels permettant d’éliminer les longueurs d’onde nuisibles issues d’un éclairage LED, sans impacter la qualité et l’efficacité de cet éclairage. En utilisant la technique de dépôt PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition), nous avons développé des matériaux optiques innovants qui permettent de réaliser des filtres efficaces, simples et à faible coût.