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A light-emitting diode (LED) (pronounced /ˌɛl.iːˈdiː/[1]) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices, and are increasingly used for lighting. Introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962,[2] early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness.

IBM announced a new semiconductor wafer reclamation process that uses a specialized pattern removal technique to repurpose scrap semiconductor wafers to a form used to manufacture silicon-based solar panels.

The key-word being 'kind of'.

Dubbed the "missing greenhouse gas," nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) was found by a recent study to have a global climate impact 17,000 times greater than carbon dioxide. The chemical is found in the LCD panels of cell phones, televisions, and computer monitors, as well as in semiconductors and synthetic diamonds. The chemical is not one of the greenhouse gases monitored by the Kyoto Protocol, due to the fact that LCDs were not produced in significant quantities when it was drafted.

Solar energy is necessary for our transition to a sustainable economy, but a recent study in Geophysical Research Letters suggests that the industry may be harming the environment. Nitrogen Triflouride (NF3), a greenhouse gas used by the semiconductor industry to clean the chambers where silicon chips are produced, has 17,000 times the globe-warming capacity of CO2. Now researchers believe that emissions of the gas are up to 4 times higher than previously thought-perhaps as high as 16 percent.

The low manufacturing cost of photovoltaics that employ thin films of cadmium-telluride semiconductor have long been seen as having the potential for lifting solar power from its niche status as a very expensive power source, delivering less than a twentieth of 1 percent of U.S. electricity.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy issued a report yesterday touting the role that semiconductor-based technologies have played in making the U.S. economy more efficient. At the same time, the International Energy Agency issued its own report calling on governments around the world to be more aggressive with efficiency standards for ICT and consumer electronics, which are expected to demand twice as much power by 2022 and three times as much by 2030 - creating a need for another 280 gigawatts of power generation (i.e. like adding another Japan to the world, or more than 230 nuclear reactors). "This will jeopardize efforts to increase energy security and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases," according to an IEA news brief.

Information technology may not be the much-maligned energy guzzler but the key to more efficient technologies, according to a report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The basis of IT, semiconductor technology, is central to energy efficiency improvements that could allow the US economy to grow by more than 70% between now and 2030 while reducing electricity use by 11%.

What do BP, Sharp and Sanyo all have in common? They are all among the largest producers of solar modules. And recently Honda and Applied Materials have entered the solar business as well. If you are a renewable energy fan, you have to get excited when large semiconductor equipment experts like Applied Materials get in the game. But the most recent prospective entrant (which I have blogged about) is IBM.

Semiconductor solar cells absorb sunlight from the visible spectrum, ignoring ultraviolet and infrared rays, which limits how much energy a solar cell can create from sunlight. But a new material made by researchers in Spain throws titanium and vanadium into the mix so it can utilize infrared and potentially boost efficiency of solar cells.