{
  "patent_number": "US 3293513",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How the First Infrared LED Was Invented",
  "original_title": "Semiconductor radiant diode",
  "summary": "Texas Instruments' 1962 patent for the first practical semiconductor diode that emits infrared light when electricity passes through it.",
  "what_it_does": "The device uses a gallium-arsenide crystal body with two distinct layers, a p-type and an n-type, which meet to form a p-n junction. When an electrical current is applied through the contacts, the junction emits infrared light. The patent specifically details a design with a large contact on one side and a specialized, multi-part contact on the other to efficiently manage current flow and light emission. This structure was the foundational blueprint for modern light-emitting diodes.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover visible light LEDs, as this specific design emits infrared radiation.",
    "Does not cover LEDs made from materials other than gallium-arsenide.",
    "Does not cover light-emitting devices that rely on non-semiconductor materials like filaments or gas discharge."
  ],
  "filed": "1962-08-08",
  "granted": "1966-12-20",
  "expires": "1983-12-20",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "Texas Instruments Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/texas-instruments-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "James R Biard",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/james-r-biard"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gary E Pittman",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/gary-e-pittman"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 54,
  "tags": [
    "semiconductors",
    "telecommunications",
    "consumer_electronics"
  ],
  "abstract": null,
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3293513/infrared-led-biard-pittman",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3293513/infrared-led-biard-pittman/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US3293513",
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    {
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      "countryCode": "US",
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}