LED versus laser light

I’ve been asked about the difference between LED and laser lights.

Laser lights are made from diodes, and they are designed so that all the light is the same in time and wavelength. The technical term for this is coherence. The laser light is narrow and very focused. This has safety and health implications for people using laser devices, especially in the eyes.

LED lights are also made from diodes, but they are not coherent, so that the light scatters over a larger area. This makes them safe to use, compared with lasers.

Is a laser light superior to a LED light in photobiomodulation? No, its not. The thing that really matters is the wavelength, not coherence.

Thanks to Chris Slupski on Unsplash for the wonderful photo.