[chrisBob]

Am I the only person that thought the shape of the metal inside an LED was a significant part of the function?

I am sure if I thought about it I would have realized that it is just support for the silicon. I guess I never thought about it that much until today.

[morcheeba]

If you look closely, you'll see it's actually in the shape of a reflector - usually a cone. Also not shown is that some higher-power leds use a blob of silicone around the chip to protect the bond wire during thermal expansion -- the cone helps hold the silicone while curing.