Patent Grant
11933459
The present disclosure generally relates to light engines employed in lamp assemblies, and more particularly to light engines employing light emitting diode filaments for the light source.
Conservation and management of electrical power are a growing concern with regard to both cost and environmental impact. In various lighting applications, the use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) for illumination is beginning to emerge as a lighting source with potential for addressing these concerns. LED light sources have a long life, are energy efficient, are durable and operate over a wide temperature range.
An LED filament light bulb is an LED lamp which is designed to resemble a traditional incandescent light bulb with visible filaments for aesthetic and light distribution purposes, but with the high efficiency of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). It produces its light using LED filaments, which are series-connected strings of diodes that resemble in appearance the filaments of incandescent light bulbs. They are direct replacements for conventional clear (or frosted) incandescent bulbs, as they are made with the same envelope shapes, the same bases that fit the same sockets, and work at the same supply voltage.
In one aspect, the methods and structures of the present disclosure reduces the amount of phosphor employed in Light Emitting Diode (LED) filament.
In one embodiment the present disclosure provides a lamp including light emitting diode filaments including chip scale package light emitting diodes and a phosphor layer configured to reduce the yellow appearance of the lamp when the lamp is in the off state In one embodiment, the lamp includes electrical leads extending into a supporting stem. The electrical leads are in communication with a base electrode for engagement to a light fixture. The light engine further includes light emitting diode filaments that are in electrical communication with the electrical leads. The light emitting diode filaments including a circuit with a plurality of contact pads arranged along a length of a substrate. The light emitting diode filaments further including light emitting diode (LED) chips engaged to the contact pads along the length of the substrate to provide that the light emitting diode (LED) chips are electrically connected in series. In some embodiments, each light emitting diode (LED) chip includes at least a light transmission surface that is in contact with an individual portion of phosphor for the LED chip
In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a lamp including light emitting diode filaments including flip chip light emitting diodes and a phosphor layer configured to reduce the yellow appearance of the lamp when the lamp is in the off state. In one embodiment, the lamp includes electrical leads extending into a supporting stem. The electrical leads are in communication with a base electrode for engagement to a light fixture. The light engine further includes light emitting diode filaments that are in electrical communication with the electrical leads. The light emitting diode filaments including a circuit with a plurality of contact pads arranged along a length of a substrate. The light emitting diode filaments further including light emitting diode (LED) chips engaged to the contact pads along the length of the substrate to provide that the light emitting diode (LED) chips are electrically connected in series. In some embodiments, each light emitting diode (LED) chip includes at least a light transmission surface that is in contact with an individual portion of phosphor for the LED chip.
The following description will provide details of embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present invention, as well as other variations thereof, means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment”, as well any other variations, appearing in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
LED filament bulbs are designed to mimic the appearance of a tungsten filament. However, LED filament bulbs prior to the methods and structures disclosed herein contain yellow filament appearing filaments with millimeter level thickness. Example lengths for the filaments can be 53 mm, 40 mm and 68 mm. These are just examples of the lengths of prior filaments, which have a yellow appearance.
In some examples, the LED filament include multiple series-connected light emitting diodes LEDs on a transparent substrate, referred to as chip-on-glass (COG). These transparent substrates are made of glass or sapphire materials. This transparency allows the emitted light to disperse evenly and uniformly without any interference. An even coating of yellow phosphor in a silicone resin binder material converts the blue light generated by the LEDs into light approximating white light of the desired color temperature, e.g., 2700 K to match the warm white of an incandescent bulb. However, LED filaments used in lamps often have yellow appearance, especially the lamp is under power off status. The typical structure of these filaments is consisted by led chip, stents or substrate, silicon glue mixed with phosphor, led chips stamped on led stents, then coat the silicon glue which mix the yellow color phosphor powder.
Although, the filament lamp meets the requirement of traditional lighting requirement, but the yellow color on the filament is eye-catching, and unattractive, when the lamp is off. This is especially the case when employed in light fixtures having a geometry and style for a traditional or retro-styled lighting fixture, such as crystal chandeliers.
The structures and methods of the present disclosure can provide light emitting diode (LED) filaments that look inconspicuous, when it is used in build lamps. The structures and methods employ a reduced amount of phosphor. The LED filaments described herein have a reduced size and employ a thin layer of phosphor. A combination of the size, geometry and thickness of the filament components related to the layer of phosphor help to provide lamp designs incorporating the filaments, which do not include the highly distinctive yellow color of designs including a greater amount of phosphor.
In some embodiments, to provide filaments including a reduced phosphor content, the methods and structures begin with a filament geometry that is relatively small. For example, the length can range from 10 mm to 20 mm, and the width generally ranges from 0.8 mm to 2.0 mm. The diameter of a filament can range from 0.6 mm to 2 mm.
In some embodiments, providing the filaments can begin with starting with a very narrow (1 mm level) substrate that is made with sapphire (e.g., Al2O3), or ceramic material. In some embodiments, a large blue light emitting diode (LED) chip is coated with yellow phosphor. The die is then populated onto the substrate having the aforementioned dimensions. In some embodiments, instead of a single larger die, multiple smaller die may be employed. In a following step the entire light emitting diode (LED) populated substrate is coated with a clear adhesive. This method, and the resultant structure, can solve two problems. First, the clear adhesive does not appear yellow, and the amount of phosphor (which is yellow) is reduced, which ultimately reduces the yellow appearance of the filament. Second, in addition to the yellow appearance of the filament being reduced by the limited use of phosphor and the clear encapsulant, the filaments themselves are reduced in size. The narrower width and shorter length filaments, when incorporated into the light engine of a lamp further reduce the yellow appearance of the filaments, when compared to larger filaments having thicker coatings of phosphor.
In some embodiments, the light emitting diodes incorporated into the filaments of the lamps provided by the present disclosure may be chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes Chip Scale Package (CSP) LEDs are Lambertian emitters presenting the highest luminance at smallest size available on the market. Chip scale package without bond wires or need for spacing makes them the perfect fit for dense clustering and high luminous flux output. When employing chip scale package LEDs, the LEDs are attached to a substrate, in which a printed circuit provides for electrical communications to the individual CSP LEDs. In this embodiment, the CSP LED arrays are then coated with a transparent material having a very high transmittance. This embodiment reduce the use of phosphor layers. Some examples of CSP LEDs, and methods disclosing CSP LEDs have been described with reference to
By eliminating the phosphor, the yellow coloring that is necessarily associated with phosphor is also eliminated from the design. The methods and structures of the present disclosure are now described with reference to
The LED filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f are arranged in an array having electrically conductive edge pathways 55a, 55b. Each row of LED filaments are connected in series. For example, the first row R1 includes two series connected filaments 100a, 100b, the second row R2 includes two series connected filaments 100c, 100d; and the third row R3 includes two series connected filaments 100e, 100f. The filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f are geometrically positioned to provide linear electrical pathways. For example, the filament having reference number 100a is connected to the filament having reference number 100b so that the angle defined by the body of the filaments connected at the vertex V1 is equal to approximately 180 degrees. Components connected in series are connected along a single “electrical path”, and each component has the same current through it, equal to the current through the network. Although each row R1, R2, R3 of filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f includes two filaments, the present disclosure is not limited to only this example. For example, embodiments have been contemplated, in which three filaments are present in each row of the array. The number of filaments in a row may be dictated by the size of the individual filaments, and the size of the opening to the optic 75.
Each row R1, R2, R3 is connected by the electrically conductive edge pathways 55a, 55b in parallel. Components connected in parallel are connected along multiple paths, and each component has the same voltage across it, equal to the voltage across the network. The current through the network is equal to the sum of the currents through each component. Although
The LED filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f are configured to reduce the amount of phosphor that is present therein. The phosphor is present in sufficient amounts to convert the blue light emitted from the LEDs within the filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f to white light, however, has been reduced by the methods and structures described with reference to
In some embodiments, the outermost electrodes for the LED filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f for each row R1, R2, R3 are joined in electrical communication with the electrically conductive edge pathways 55a, 55b. The electrically conductive edge pathways 55a, 55b may be composed of a metal structure, such as a metal wire. For example, the electrically conductive edge pathways 55a, 55b may be composed of molybdenum (Mo) wire. These electrically conductive edge pathways 55a, 55b may also be composed of nickel (Ni) plated steel or an alternate suitable material.
Still referring to
The glass stem 25 houses a portion of the electrically conductive stem pathways 56a, 56b that bring in DC (direct current) from the driver (not shown) to the LED filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f. The glass stem 25 is sealed to the glass bulb, i.e., optic 75, which is evacuated of air via exhaust port and then backfilled with a gas blend of suitably high thermal conductivity.
The glass bulb 75 could belong to any of a number of types of lamp shapes like A19, A21, G, BR, B, C etc. The air from the sealed bulb (optic 75) is evacuated via the exhaust hole 24 located in stem 25. The sealed and exhausted bulb (optic 75) can be backfilled with a suitable gas blend of high thermal conductivity through port 24 and then the tube leading to port 24 (not shown) is tipped off thereby creating a sealed glass bulb (optic 75) containing a suitable gas blend and the light engine.
In some embodiment, the array of LED filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f provide a light engine that is incorporated into a lamp 500a, in which the array of LED filaments is positioned at light projecting end (present at the optic 75) of the lamp 500a and a base 65 of the lamp 500 includes an electrical connector 66 for connection with a lamp fixture.
The light bulb shaped lamp 500a is a light bulb shaped LED lamp that can function for replacing an incandescent electric bulb, in which a base 65 is attached to a translucent globe 75. The light engine including the light emitting diode (LED) filament structures 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f is housed in the globe 75. The light engine including the light emitting diode (LED) filament structures 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f positions the filaments in a reduced volume of the translucent globe 75. This provides that the bulbs incorporating the LEI) filaments of the present design have the appearance that is more similar to a typical incandescent tungsten filament based bulb. First, as noted above, and to be further described below with reference to
Referring back to
In some embodiments, the globe 75 is a hollow translucent component, which houses the light engine composed of the LED filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f inside, and transmits the light from the light engine to outside of the lamp 500a. In some embodiments, the globe 75 is a hollow glass bulb made of silica glass transparent to visible light. The globe 75 can have a shape with one end closed in a spherical shape, and the other end having an opening. In some embodiments, the shape of the globe 75 is that a part of hollow sphere is narrowed down while extending away from the center of the sphere, and the opening is formed at a part away from the center of the sphere. In the embodiment that is depicted in
Still referring to
In some embodiments, driver electronics, e.g., a lighting circuit (a circuit for causing the LEDs of the plurality of light emitting diode (LED) filament structures 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f to emit light), are housed in the base housing 65. More specifically, in one embodiment, the driver electronics, e.g., lighting circuit, includes a plurality of circuit elements, and a circuit board on which each of the circuit elements is mounted. In this embodiment, the driver electronics, e.g., lighting circuit, converts the AC power received from the base 66 of the base housing 65 to the DC power, and supplies the DC power to the LEDs of the plurality of light emitting diode (LED) filament structures 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f through the two lead wires (electrically conductive stem pathways 56a, 56b). In one embodiment, the driver electronics may be provided by a lighting circuit that may include a diode bridge for rectification, a capacitor for smoothing, and a resistor for adjusting current. The lighting circuit is not limited to a smoothing circuit, but may be an appropriate combination of light-adjusting circuit, voltage booster, and others.
The driver electronics may be housed within a base housing 65 that is composed of a resin material. The base housing 65 can be provided at the opening of the globe 75. More specifically, the base housing 65 is attached to the globe 75 using an adhesive such as cement to cover the opening of the globe 75. The base electrode 66 is connected to the end of the base housing 65 that is opposite the end of the base housing 65 that is closest to the globe 75. In some embodiments, the base electrode 66 is provided by an E26 base. The light bulb shaped lamp 500a can be attached to a socket for E26 base connected to the commercial AC power source for use. Note that, the base 66 does not have to be an E26 base, and may be a base of other size, such as E17. In addition, the base 66 does not have to be a screw base, and may be a base in a different shape such as a plug-in base.
It is noted that the arrangement/geometry of the LED filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f that is depicted in
The number of LED filament structures in the example depicted in
The LED filaments 100g, 100h, 100i, 100j, 100k, 100l, 100m, 100n, 100o, 100p are configured to reduce the amount of phosphor that is present therein. The phosphor is present in sufficient amounts to convert the blue light emitted from the LEDs within the filaments 100g, 100h, 100i, 100j, 100k, 100l, 100m, 100n, 100o, 100p to white light. However, the amount of phosphorus has been reduced by the methods and structures described with reference to
The light bulb shaped lamp 500b, 500c depicted in
The optic 75, stem 25, base 65, base electrode 66 and driver electronics for the bulbs 500b, 500c depicted in
The first ring electrically conductive pathway 55c and the second ring electrically conductive pathway 55d are similar to the electrically conductive edge pathways 55a, 55b depicted in
Still referring to
The optic 75, stem 25, base 65, base electrode 66 and driver electronics for the bulbs 500d, 500e depicted in
Similar to the description of the filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f, 100g, 100h, 100i, 100j, 100k, 100l, 100m, 100n, 100o, 100p, 100q that are depicted in
The optic 75, stem 25, base 65, base electrode 66 and driver electronics for the bulbs 500g depicted in
Similar to the description of the filaments 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 100f, 100g, 100h, 100i, 100j, 100k, 100l, 100m, 100n, 100o, 100p, 100q that are depicted in
The optic 75, stem 25, base 65, base electrode 66 and driver electronics for the bulb 500a depicted in
As noted above, for each of the embodiments depicted in
Chip Scale Package (CSP) LEDs are Lambertian emitters presenting the highest luminance at smallest size available on the market. Chip scale package light emitting diodes do not include bond wires. When employing chip scale package LEDs, the LEDs are attached, e.g., bonded, to a substrate, in which a circuit, e.g., printed circuit, provides for electrical communications to the individual CSP LEDs In this embodiment, the CSP LED arrays are then coated with a clear transparent or translucent material having a very high transmittance with no phosphor. In some embodiments, white diffusive powder may be added into the adhesive, and the material can be translucent. This embodiment reduce the use of phosphor layers. By eliminating the encapsulating phosphor, the yellow coloring that is necessarily associated with phosphor is also eliminated from the design.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In some embodiments, the base substrate 160 can act as a frame and provides for structural stability of the filament structure 100. In some examples, the base substrate 160 is composed of a metal. Examples of metals suitable for the base substrate 160 can include stainless steel, copper, brass, aluminum, aluminum alloy, tungsten and combinations thereof. It is noted that the above provided metal compositions are provided for illustrative purposes only. Other compositions are equally applicable for providing the material of the base substrate 60. In some instances, the material selection is limited by materials that do not allow for the transmission of light.
The atop the base substrate 160 is the insulating layer 165. The metal composition of the base substrate 160 provides sufficient rigidity and does not transmit light therethrough. However, metals are electrically conductive. To provide isolation between the electrically conductive metal of the base substrate 160 and the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150, the insulating layer 165 is deposited atop the base substrate prior to forming the printed circuit that provides electrical communication to the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150. The insulating layer 165 may be any dielectric/insulating material used in electronics for electrical isolation purposes. For example, the insulating layer 165 can be composed of alumina (Al2O3), silicon oxide (SiO2), silicon carbide, as well as other metal oxides and ceramics etc. The insulating layer 165 may also be composed of glass fiber and glass fiber/epoxy compositions similar to those employed in FR4 dielectric compositions used in printed circuit boards.
Any dielectric deposition method may be employed in forming the insulating layer. For example, the dielectric material may be deposited onto the base substrate 160 using dip coating, curtain coating, deposition from solution, brush coating, etc. In other examples, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process may be employed, such as metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) or plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). In even further embodiments, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process may be employed, such as deposition via evaporation or deposition by sputtering. In some examples, the evaporation method may be by E-beam evaporation, ion assisted deposition (IAD), thermal evaporation, and combinations thereof. Sputtering methods can include magnetron sputtering, ion beam sputtering, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and combinations thereof.
To provide the electrical communication to the later engaged chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs), a printed circuit 154 is formed on the insulating layer 165. The printed circuit 154 includes electrical pathways that are in direct contact with the contacts to the later engaged chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150 and the later formed electrode layer (conductor layer 170). The printed circuit provides direct electrical communication between the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150 and the conductor layer 170. As used herein, “direct electrical contact” denotes electrical communication across a physical electrically conductive medium. In the present case, the physical electrically conductive medium is provided by a metal track (or lead). The metal tracks (or leads) provide separate pathways to the anode and cathode contacts of the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150, and to the anode and cathode contacts provided by the conductor layer 170. The metal tracks (also referred to as metal lines or leads) can be formed using a printing method. For example, the metal tracks may be composed of copper, aluminum, tungsten or alloys and combinations thereof. The metal tracks that provide the printed circuit 54 may be formed using printing technology, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM), selective laser sintering (SLS), stereo lithography apparatus (SLA), and combinations thereof.
In some embodiments, the tracks for the printed circuit 154 can lead to pads 151. The pads 151 are the points at which there is direct electrical contact between the printed circuit and the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150.
As noted, the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150 are engaged to circuit 154. The chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150 includes an LED die 152, and a phosphor coating 153. As used herein, “LED chip” and “light emitting semiconductor structure” refer to a stack of semiconductor layers, including an active region which emits light when biased to produce an electrical current flow through the device, and contacts attached to the stack. If a substrate on which the semiconductor layers are grown is present, “LED chip” includes the substrate. The active region of the LED can include an n-type region and a p-type region, which can be multiple layer structures of materials having the general formula AlxGayIn1-x-yN (0≤x≤1,0y1, 0x+y≤1), and may further contain group III elements such as boron and thallium. Sometimes, the nitrogen may be replaced by phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, or bismuth. In some embodiments, the n-type region and the p-type region may be composed of a II-VI material. The LED die 152 may emit blue light.
“Phosphor” refers to any luminescent materials which absorb light of one wavelength and emits light of a different wavelength, and “light emitting device” refers to an LED chip coated with a layer, for example a phosphor layer, through which the emitted light passes. The phosphor coating 153 converts the blue light to a suitable white light to be emitted by a lamp.
The phosphor coating 153 provides a method for providing white light from blue light emitted by light emitting diode chip (also referred to as light emitting diode (LED) die 152). The phosphor white method produces white light in a single LED by combining a short wavelength LED such as blue or UV, and a yellow phosphor coating. The blue or UV photons generated in the LED either travels through the phosphor layer without alteration, or they are converted into yellow photons in the phosphor layer. The combinations of the blue and yellow photons combine to generate white light phosphor white may have a color rendering ranging from Ra70 to 85.
In a typical phosphor white manufacturing process, the phosphor coating 153, i.e., phosphor encapsulant, is deposited on the LED die 152. In some embodiments, the LED die 152 of the present disclosure may use a 450 nm-470 nm blue GaN (gallium nitride) LED or a 385 nm to 480 blue LED covered by a yellowish phosphor coating 53 usually made of cerium doped yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG:Ce) crystals which have been powdered and bound in a type of viscous adhesive. The LED chip emits blue light, part of which is converted to yellow by the YAG:Ce.
It is noted that gallium nitride (GaN) is only one example of the composition that may be employed for the LED die 152. Other compositions are equally applicable so long as the light emitted by the selected composition can be converted to white light when passing through the phosphor coating 153. For example, in some embodiments, the composition of the LED die 154 can be indium gallium nitride (InGaN). A common yellow phosphor material composition is cerium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Ce3+:YAG).
The methods and structures of the present disclosure provide sufficient phosphor to convert the blue light emitted from the LED die 152 to white light. However, the amount of phosphor is minimized to avoid the filament having a yellow color. For example, the phosphor may be disposed on only the light transmission surfaces of the LED die 152. In some examples, the phosphor coating may be present on only the upper surface of the LED die 152, and the sidewall surface of the LED die 152. This is distinguished from prior filament designs that encapsulate the entire array of LEDs, and portions of the substrate separating the adjustment array in a continuous layer of phosphor. In prior designs, the phosphor encapsulant is a blanket deposited layer covering a majority of the filament structure. Contrary to blanket deposited phosphor, the phosphor employed in the designs depicted in
In some embodiments, to form the yellow phosphor material, a solid state reaction is employed that can employ sol-gel and (co) precipitation methods. A phosphor 153 can be applied to an LED die 152 by mixing it with a liquid or gel binder, such as epoxy or silicone, which is then applied as a layer to the LED chip. Referring to
Referring to
The chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diode (LED) 150 can be engaged to the contact pads of the circuit. The connective means may be any conventional adhesive or metal bumps such as solder, gold, or aluminum, and is referred to as metal bumps (also referred to as solder bumps) 159. The term “solder”, as used herein, refers to any metal or metallic compound or alloy that is melted and then allowed to cool in order to join two or more metallic surfaces together. Generally speaking, solders have melting temperatures in the range of 150° C. to 250° C. Solder bumps may be small spheres of solder (solder balls) that are bonded to contact areas, interconnect lines or pads of the LEDs 150 and the printed circuit 154. In some embodiments, the solder bumps can be made from lead-free solder mixtures or lead tin solder. In some examples, the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diode (LED) 150 can then be picked and placed by either a high precision die bonder (with solder printed on substrate pads), or by a regular pick-place machine (also sometimes called a chip shooter).
The chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diode (LED) 150 may be engaged through their contacts 161, 162 to the pads of the circuit 154 by the metal bumps 159. It is noted that the above example is provided for illustrative purposes only. Any surface mount technology or electrically conductive adhesive may also be used to connect the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diode (LED) 50 to the circuit 54.
The number of chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150 that are engaged to the filament structure can be dependent upon application, and the size of the filament structures, as well as the light requirements for the performance of the filament light emitting diodes (LEDs). Although the example depicted in
Referring to
Still referring to
The transparent layer 175 can provide both additional structure support for engaging the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150 to the filament structure, and can also provide protection to the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 150. Additionally, the transparent layer 175 can also diffuse light that is being emitted by the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diode (LED) 150. By diffusing the light emitted by the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diode (LED) 150, light spotting is reduced.
It is noted that the above description of the filaments 100 including the chip scale package (CSP) light emitting diodes (LEDs) is provided for illustrative purposes, and that variations to the above described examples are within the scope of the present disclosure.
As noted above, for each of the embodiments depicted in
In some embodiments, using flip chip (FC) technology, the LEDs are engaged to the substrate which includes a printed electrical circuit to provide electrical communication to the LEDs. In a following step, the LED chips are covered with a thin layer of phosphor. In some embodiments, the thin layer of phosphor encapsulates the plurality of flip chip LEDs with a single continuous and conformal layer. The single continuous and conformal phosphor layer is particularly thin, which facilitates a reduced amount of phosphor being employed in the design. For example, the thickness of the single continuous and conformal phosphor layer may range from 150 microns to 500 microns.
The single continuous and conformal thickness phosphor layer may extend across the entirely of flip chip LEDs on a single filament substrate, e.g., filament stent, in which the single phosphor layer bridges across the space separating the adjacently positioned flip chip LED's. It is further noted that the single continuous and conformal thickness layer for the phosphor may be present on only the side of the filament substrate (also referred to as filament stent) that the flip chip LEDs are present on.
The plurality of Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 250 can be in electrical communication through series connection, and may be referred to as an array of Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 250. The array of Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 250 can be linearly disposed along the length L1 of the base substrate 260. The entire array of Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 250 may be referred to an island.
In some embodiments, a majority of the Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 250 are covered with a layer of phosphor. In some embodiments, the layer of phosphor extends continuously over the entire array of LEDs 250, e.g., the entire island of LEDs 50, that are present in the filament 100. For example, the layer of phosphor 253 may be a single layer that is in direct contact with the upper surfaces of the LEDs 250, and bridges across the spaces separating the adjacent LEDs in the array. In some instances, an air gap 255 may be present under the portion of the phosphor layer 253 that bridges across the spaces separating the adjacent LEDs in the array.
The insulating layer 265 depicted in
The conductor layer 270 depicted in
The base substrate 260 depicted in
Referring to
The Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 250 are engaged to circuit 254. The active region of the LED can include an n-type region and a p-type region, which can be multiple layer structures of materials having the general formula AlxGayIn1-x-yN (0≤x≤1,0y1,0x+y≤1), and may further contain group III elements such as boron and thallium. Sometimes, the nitrogen may be replaced by phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, or bismuth. In some embodiments, the n-type region and the p-type region may be composed of a II-VI material. The LED 50 may emit blue light. In some embodiments, the LEDs 250 are Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs). A Flip Chip (FC) can be referred to as having a “wireless bonded chip architecture”. A Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diode (LED) has an architecture that is distinguishable from a conventional wire bond LED package. The architecture of a conventional wire bond LEI) package has the active area of the semiconductor chip facing upwards as the chip is mounted onto the substrate or board with epoxy, usually with a dielectric layer in between In a conventional wire bond LED package, wires are then used to interconnect bonding pads on the outer edges of the active area of the chip to the external circuitry of the substrate or board it is mounted on. These bonding pads are located on the outsides of the active area in order to minimize the amount of wiring needed to reach them. In this arrangement, light emits from the top of the chip and heat dissipates through the bottom.
In contrast to a wire bond LED, the wireless bonded architecture of a flip chip (FC) light emitting diode (LED) 250 flips the design upside down (literally) by rotating the orientation of the emissive elements of the chip, allowing an unobstructed path for light from the chip to the viewer.
Though, ultimately a Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diode (LED) 250 delivers a more efficient product and requires fewer materials overall than a wire type connected diode, the design does include an additional step in manufacturing. Towards the end of the chip manufacturing process for the Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diode (LED) 250, the bonding pads 256a, 256b on the active surface of the chip receive a small dot of solder 257. Unlike with wire bonding, these pads do not necessarily need to be located on or near the outside edges of the surface since rather than connecting to external circuitry via wires looped around the other layers of the chip, they are simply attached to the circuitry, e.g., circuit 254 (such as printed circuit), directly through thermosonic bonding or reflow soldering. These bonds 257 leave a small sliver of space between the surface of the active area of the chip and the surface of the substrate or board. In some embodiments, the space can be filled with epoxy to act as a thermal bridge heat can use to escape.
The bonding pads 256a, 256b of the Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diode (LED) 50 can be engaged to the contact pads of the circuit 254. The connective means may be any conventional adhesive or metal bumps such as solder, gold, or aluminum, and is referred to as metal bumps (also referred to as solder bumps) 257. The term “solder”, as used herein, refers to any metal or metallic compound or alloy that is melted and then allowed to cool in order to join two or more metallic surfaces together. Generally speaking, solders have melting temperatures in the range of 150° C. to 250° C. Solder bumps 257 may be small spheres of solder (solder balls) that are bonded to contact areas, interconnect lines or pads of the LEDs 250 and the printed circuit 254. In some embodiments, the solder bumps 257 can be made from lead-free solder mixtures or lead tin solder. In some examples, the Flip Chip (FC) light emitting diode (LED) 250 can then be picked and placed by either a high precision die bonder (with solder printed on substrate pads), or by a regular pick-place machine (also sometimes called a chip shooter).
Referring to
The number of flip chip (FC) light emitting diode (LED) 50 that are engaged to the filament structure can be dependent upon application, and the size of the filament structures, as well as the light requirements for the performance of the filament light emitting diodes (LEDs). Although the example depicted in
Referring to
The phosphor coating 253 provides a method for providing white light from blue light emitted by light emitting diode chip (LED) 250. The phosphor white method produces white light in a single LED by combining a short wavelength LED such as blue or UV, and a yellow phosphor coating. The blue or UV photons generated in the LED either travels through the phosphor layer without alteration, or they are converted into yellow photons in the phosphor layer. The combinations of the blue and yellow photons combine to generate white light. Phosphor white may have a color rendering ranging from Ra 70 to 85.
In some embodiments, the LED 250 of the present disclosure may use a 450 nm-470 nm blue GaN (gallium nitride) LED or a 385 nm to 480 blue LED covered by a yellowish phosphor coating 253 usually made of cerium doped yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG:Ce) crystals which have been powdered and bound in a type of viscous adhesive. The LED chip emits blue light, part of which is converted to yellow by the YAG:Ce.
It is noted that gallium nitride (GaN) is only one example of the composition that may be employed for the LED 250. Other compositions are equally applicable so long as the light emitted by the selected composition can be converted to white light when passing through the phosphor coating 253. For example, in some embodiments, the composition of the LED 250 can be indium gallium nitride (InGaN). A common yellow phosphor material composition is cerium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Ce3+:YAG).
The methods and structures of the present disclosure provide sufficient phosphor to convert the blue light emitted from the flip chip LED 250 to white light. However, the amount of phosphor is minimized to avoid the filament having a highly observable yellow color. For example, the phosphor coating 253 may be present in limited thicknesses ranging from 150 microns to 500 microns. In one example, the phosphor layer 53 has a thickness of 300 microns. The thickness of the phosphor layer may be equal to 100 microns, 150 microns, 200 microns, 250 microns, 300 microns, 350 microns, 400 microns, 450 microns or 500 microns. It is noted that the thickness of the phosphor layer 253 can have any range of values employing any of the values from the prior sentence as a minimum value for the range and any of the values from the prior sentence as a maximum for the range. Further, the phosphor may be disposed on only the array of LEDs 250 (also referred to as an island of LEDs), and only on the side of the substrate 260 that the LEDs 250 are present on. This is distinguished from prior filament designs that encapsulate the entire array of LEDs together with the entirety of the length of the substrate that the LEDs are present on. In prior designs, the phosphor encapsulant is a blanket deposited layer covering a majority of the filament structure, e.g., on both sides of the substrate 260, which includes the side of the substrate that does not include the LEDs 250. Contrary to blanket deposited phosphor of prior designs, for the phosphor layer 253 employed in the designs depicted in
When describing the phosphor layer 253, the term “continuous” means that there are no breaks or cuts or openings in the phosphor layer across the island of LEDs 250 that the phosphor layer 253 is covering. Referring to
Referring to
The phosphor layer 253 can be deposited onto the array of LEDs 250 after they are bonded into electrical communication with the circuit 254, e.g., by solder bonding, as per flip chip methods. In some embodiments, to form the yellow phosphor material, a solid state reaction is employed that can employ sol-gel and (co) precipitation methods.
In some embodiments, the phosphor layer 253 is formed on the LED 250 by mixing a phosphor containing composition with a liquid or gel binder, such as epoxy or silicone, which is then applied as a layer to the array of LED chips 250 using paint, or brush application In some embodiments, a coating process may be employed, such as a spray application or ink jet application. In yet other embodiments, the phosphor layer 253 can be applied to the array of LEDs 250 by mixing it with a liquid or gel binder, such as epoxy or silicone, which is then applied as a layer to the LED chips 250 by transfer and press.
In some embodiments, the phosphor layer 253 may be a conformal thickness coating. In some examples, the thickness of the phosphor 53 may range from 150 microns to 500 microns. In one example, the thickness of the phosphor 53 is on the order of 300 microns.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the Flip Chip (FC) LED arrays are then coated with a clear transparent or translucent material having a very high transmittance with no phosphor. In some embodiments, white diffusive powder may be added into the adhesive, and the material can be translucent. This embodiment reduce the use of phosphor layers. By eliminating the encapsulating phosphor, the yellow coloring that is necessarily associated with phosphor is also eliminated from the design.
Still referring to
The transparent layer 275 can provide both additional structure support for engaging the flip chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 250 to the filament structure, and can also provide protection to the flip chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 250. Additionally, the transparent layer 275 can also diffuse light that is being emitted by the flip chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 250. By diffusing the light emitted by the flip chip (FC) light emitting diodes (LEDs) 250, light spotting is reduced. In some embodiments, the transparent layer 275 may be omitted.
In some embodiments, a method for assembling a filament light emitting diode 100 is provided that includes forming a circuit 254 on a filament stent substrate 260. In some examples, the circuit 254 has pads arranged along a length of the filament stent substrate 260. In some embodiments, the method includes bonding light emitting diode (LED) chips 250 to the circuit, the light emitting diode chips 250 including a light emitting diode (LED) die having contacts 256a, 256b on a contact surface side of the LED chips 250 for the bonding to the pads of the printed circuit 254. The bonding of the light emitting diode (LED) 250 to the circuit 254 can include solder bonding.
The method can further include forming a continuous phosphor layer 253 on the plurality of light emitting diodes. The phosphor layer 253 can include includes first portions F1 of the continuous phosphor layer 253 that are in direct contact with at least a light transmission surface of the light emitting diode (LED) chips 250, and second portions F2 of the continuous phosphor layer 253 that bridge across the space separating adjacently positioned light emitting diodes 250. The light transmission surface may be the surface of the LED 250 that is opposite the surface of the LED that is bonded to the circuit 254 of the filament 100. The continuous phosphor layer 253 may have a conformal thickness. In some embodiments, the continuous phosphor layer 253 is only present on a side of the filament stent substrate that the Flip Chip (FC) Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are also present on. The phosphor layer 253 may have a composition including cerium doped yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG:Ce) crystals.
In some embodiments, after forming the conformal phosphor layer 253, a transparent encapsulant 275 is formed over at least the light emitting diodes (LED) 250. The transparent encapsulant 275 may be omitted.
It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following “f”, “and/or”, and “at least one of”, for example, in the cases of “A/B”, “A and/or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A and B). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B. and/or C” and “at least one of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listed option (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listed options (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listed options (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listed options (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and B and C). This may be extended, as readily apparent by one of ordinary skill in this and related arts, for as many items listed.
Spatially relative terms, such as “forward”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “clockwise”, “counter clockwise”, “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, can be used herein for ease of description to describe one element's or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the FIGs. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the FIGs.
Having described preferred embodiments of a light emitting diode filament lamp with reduced phosphor light emitting diode filaments, it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments disclosed which are within the scope of the invention as outlined by the appended claims. Having thus described aspects of the invention, with the details and particularity required by the patent laws, what is claimed and desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.
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| Number | Date | Country |
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| 208951719 | Jun 2019 | CN |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20230341095 A1 | Oct 2023 | US |
