How do plasma LEDs work compared to standard LED bulbs? Standard LEDs emit light directly from semiconductor chips when current is applied, instead of from a vacuum the way incandescent bulbs do. In plasma bulbs, a radio frequency signal is generated by a solid-state power amplifier and directed into an electric field created inside the bulb. Once current is applied, gas and metal halide materials inside the bulb vaporize into a plasma state to create light output that is as twice as dazzling as standard LEDs. Both types offer greater efficiency than incandescent bulbs because power is not lost in the production of heat. Standard LEDs generate 70 lm/W on average and plasma LEDs generate around 150 lm/W, far greater than 15 from incandescent bulbs.