LED Specifications
Reverse Voltage (VR)

The Reverse Voltage, VR, specification of an LED serves to tell you the maximum voltage that an LED can be fed reverse biased without being damaged or destroyed.

Reverse biased means that instead of supplying positive voltage to the anode of the LED, positive voltage is fed to the cathode of the LED.

An LED can tolerate a specific amount of reverse voltage but once this amount is exceeded, the LED can be destroyed.

The reverse voltage, VR, specification on a datasheet serves to tell you the absolute maximum reverse voltage that an LED can withstand before it has a high probability of being damaged or destroyed.

A typical rating for a reverse voltage is 5V. Once a LED is fed more than 5 volts reverse biased, it can be destroyed.