One embodiment of the present invention relates to a light-emitting diode having one or more light-emitting layers, a pair of electrodes disposed on the light-emitting diode so that an operating voltage can be applied to generate light from the one or more light-emitting layers, and at least one external electrode in electronic communication with the one or more light-emitting layers. Applying an appropriate voltage to the at least one external electrodes at about the time the operating voltage is terminated extracts excess electrons from the one or more light-emitting layers and reduces the duration of electron-hole recombination during the time period over which the operating voltage is turned off.