Bi-color and Tri-color LEDs Explanation
Date：
2025-09-23
Bi-color and Tri-color LEDs
Bi-color and tri-color LEDs are components that light up in different colors depending on the direction or configuration of the electrical current.
Bi-color LED (2 wires)
A standard bi-color LED has two wires. It contains two LED chips connected back-to-back (anode to cathode). The color of the light depends on which direction current flows through the device. Let’s say the LEDs in our example are green and red.
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If current flows in one direction (e.g., making the first wire positive and the second negative), the red LED will light up.
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If the current is reversed (the second wire is positive and the first is negative), the green LED will light up.
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In this configuration, only one LED can be on at a time.
Tri-color LED (3 wires)
Tri-color LEDs are a bit different. They have three wires: one for each anode and a common cathode (usually the middle wire). As with the bi-color LED, the color depends on which anode receives a positive voltage. However, there's a key feature: because the two anodes are wired separately, you can apply a positive voltage to both anode wires simultaneously. If you do this, both internal LEDs will light up, producing a third color, which is a mixture of the two (e.g., red and green together will produce yellow)
Bi-color and tri-color LED,LED chips
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