Patent Application
20140049965
The present invention relates to the lighting arts. It especially relates to single-chip and multiple-chip light emitting diode components and methods for making same, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, the invention applies to light emitting packages generally, and is applicable in packaging monolithic light emitting diode array dice, edge-emitting laser dice, vertical cavity light emitting dice or monolithic laser array dice, organic light emitting devices or organic light emitting array devices, and the like. The inventive light emitting packages and components will find application in substantially any application that employs one or more light sources.
Light emitting diode components provide illumination in small, rugged, reliable packages. Light emitting diodes have been developed in many colors spanning the visible spectrum and extending into the infrared and ultraviolet. While each light emitting diode typically emits light in a narrow spectral range, primary color light emitting diodes can be combined to emit white light. In another approach for generating white light, light from a blue, violet, or ultraviolet light emitting diode is coupled with a suitable phosphor to produce white light. Other colors can similarly be generated by suitable selection of light emitting die components, phosphors, and combinations of die components and phosphors.
One issue with light emitting diode components or packages relates to light output intensity. Early light emitting diodes had low light output intensities and were generally not competitive with incandescent and fluorescent light sources. Improvements in crystal growth, device fabrication, packaging methods, phosphor materials, and the like have substantially improved the light output intensities of modern light emitting diode packages. However, improvements in light output intensities are still being sought.
Another issue with light emitting diode components and packages relates to ruggedness. Commonly used packaging techniques, such as bonding of the dice to lead frames, can produce relatively fragile light emitting packages. Moreover, light emitting diode components and packages tend to be complex. A typical single-chip package may include, for example, a light emitting diode die, a lead frame, an encapsulant disposed over the light emitting diode die and a portion of the lead frame, and a phosphor embedded in the encapsulant.
Multiple chip packages generally further increase complexity. One example of such a multiple chip package is disclosed in Lowery, U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,301, which shows various arrangements involving generally wire-bonded interconnection of a plurality of light emitting dice disposed on a support placed in a housing including a cylindrical casing and a fluorescent plate. A similar multiple chip package is disclosed in Baretz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,600,175. Baretz discloses a phosphor contained in an encapsulant disposed inside the housing. The complexity of multiple chip packages such as those of Lowery and Baretz can adversely impact manufacturability, reliability, and manufacturing costs.
Another issue with typical light emitting diode packages and components is operating lifetime. Performance of packages employing phosphor wavelength conversion of ultraviolet or short-wavelength visible light typically degrades over time due to discoloration or other degradation of the encapsulant or other materials caused by the ultraviolet or short-wavelength visible light irradiation.
Another issue with typical light emitting diode packages is plug-in capability with lighting fixtures. A typical light emitting diode package is configured as a discrete electronic component and includes a lead frame or other electronic component mounting arrangement designed for solder connection. This approach is suitable for applications such as visual power indicators. For illumination, however, the light emitting diode package would desirably be used in a manner more analogous to a light bulb, fluorescent lighting tube, halogen bulb, or so forth, rather than as a discrete electronic component. To enable plug-in capability, the light emitting diode package for illumination applications should be readily connectable with existing illumination fixtures such as Edison sockets, track lighting fixtures, or so forth. Such plug-in fixture compatibility is, however, hampered by the typically high voltage and/or high frequency electrical power supplied by such fixtures, which is not conducive to powering low-voltage light emitting diode devices.
Another issue with using light emitting diode packages for illumination is light output quality. When light emitting diode packages employ several light emitting chips so as to produce high light intensity, a problem arises in that the output consists of several approximate point light sources corresponding to the several chips. This pixelated spatial distribution of light is problematic for illumination applications.
Spectral light output quality can also be an issue when using light emitting diode packages for white illumination. For example, different applications may call for different color rendering index (CRI) values. Obtaining white light or substantially white light with a desired (usually high) CRI value in a commercially practical manner is difficult. Existing cost-effective “white” phosphor compositions sometimes have relatively low CRI values.
The present invention contemplates improved apparatuses and methods that overcome the above-mentioned limitations and others.
According to one aspect, a light emitting package is disclosed. A printed circuit board supports at least one light emitting die and has at least two electrical terminals. Printed circuitry of the printed circuit board connects the at least one light emitting die with the at least two electrical terminals to provide power thereto. A light transmissive cover is disposed over the at least one light emitting die but not over the at least two electrical terminals. The cover has an open end defining a cover perimeter connected with the printed circuit board. An inside surface of the cover together with the printed circuit board defines an interior volume containing the at least one light emitting die. An encapsulant is disposed in the interior volume and covers at least the light emitting die.
According to another aspect, a light emitting package is disclosed. A support has at least one light emitting die disposed thereon. A glass cover is disposed on the support over the at least one light emitting die. The glass cover and the support cooperatively define an interior volume containing the at least one light emitting die. An encapsulant is disposed in the interior volume and encapsulates the at least one light emitting die.
According to another aspect, a light emitting package is disclosed. A support has at least one light emitting die disposed thereon. A single piece light transmissive cover is disposed on the support over the at least one light emitting die. The single piece cover and the support cooperatively define a substantially closed interior volume containing the at least one light emitting die. An encapsulant is disposed in the interior volume and encapsulates the at least one light emitting die.
According to another aspect, a method is provided for making a light emitting package. At least one light emitting die is electrically and mechanically connected to a printed circuit board. A light transmissive cover is secured to the printed circuit board. The light transmissive cover covers the at least one light emitting die. The secured light transmissive cover and the printed circuit board cooperatively define an interior volume. An encapsulant is disposed in the interior volume.
According to another aspect, a method is provided for disposing of a phosphor on a surface. An adhesive is disposed on the surface. A phosphor powder is applied to the adhesive. The adhesive is hardened.
According to another aspect, a lighting package is disclosed. A printed circuit board supports at least one light emitting die. A light transmissive cover is disposed over the at least one light emitting die. At least one phosphor composition comprising at least one phosphor compound is disposed on or inside of the light transmissive cover. The at least one phosphor composition outputs converted light responsive to irradiation by the at least one light emitting die.
According to another aspect, a lighting package is disclosed. A printed circuit board supports at least one light emitting die. A light transmissive cover is disposed over the at least one light emitting die. An encapsulant substantially fills an interior volume defined by the light-transmissive cover and the printed circuit board.
According to another aspect, a lighting package is disclosed. A printed circuit board supports at least one light emitting die. A light transmissive cover is disposed over the at least one light emitting die. Electrical power-conditioning circuitry is disposed on the printed circuit board and is configured to condition received input power to energize the supported at least one light emitting die.
Numerous advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification.
The invention may take form in various components and arrangements of components, and in various process operations and arrangements of process operations. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.
With reference to
With particular reference to
The printed circuit board 10 preferably further includes a heat sinking structure such as a ground plate or metal core 38 to provide heat sinking of the light emitting chips or dice 12, 14, 16. Optionally, an insulative back-plate (not shown) is disposed on the side of the metal core 38 distal from the die attach surface. The heat sink is optionally omitted in lower power lighting packages, packages mounted on a heat sinking surface, or the like. Moreover, the printed circuitry layer or layers 30 may provide adequate heat sinking in some embodiments. In still yet other embodiments, the material or materials forming the insulative layers 32, 34 are chosen to be thermally conductive so that these layers provide heat sinking.
The printed circuit board 10 optionally supports associated electrical components, such as a zener diode component 44 including one or more zener diodes connected across the light emitting dice 12, 14, 16 by the printed circuitry 30 to provide electrostatic discharge protection for the dice. Similarly, electrical power conversion circuitry, power regulating circuitry, voltage stabilizing circuitry, current-limiting circuitry, rectifying circuitry, various combinations thereof, or the like, can be included as additional components on the printed circuit board 10. Such components can be provided as one or more discrete components, or as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Moreover, an electrical plug, adaptor, electrical terminals 46, or the like can be disposed on the printed circuit board 10. In some embodiments, it is contemplated to include more than one set of electrical terminals, for example to enable series, parallel, or series-parallel interconnection of a plurality of light emitting packages. The printed circuitry 30 includes traces connecting the electrical terminals 46 with the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 such that suitable electrical power applied to the electrical terminals 46 energizes the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 and associated circuitry (if any) such as the zener diode component 44, voltage stabilizing circuitry, current limiting circuitry, or so forth. The printed circuit board 10 can include other features such as a mounting socket, mounting openings 50, 52 or the like for mechanically installing or securing the light emitting package 8.
The described printed circuit board 10 is an example. Other types of printed circuit boards or other support structures can also be employed. For example, the printed circuit traces can be disposed on the die attach surface and/or on the bottom surface rather than being sandwiched between insulative layers 32, 34. Thus, for example, the printed circuit board can be an electrically insulating support with a conductive trace evaporated and patterned or otherwise formed on the insulating support. Moreover, a heat sink can be substituted for the printed circuit board, for example with the light emitting die or dice soldered or otherwise mechanically secured to the heat sink and with the die electrodes wire bonded to electrical pads.
With continuing reference to
The light transmissive cover 60 can be secured to the printed circuit board 10 in various ways, such as by an adhesive, by a friction fit between the perimeter 62 and the groove 66, by fasteners, or so forth. The light transmissive cover 60 together with the printed circuit board 10 define an interior volume 70 containing the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16. In some embodiments, the connection between the perimeter 62 of the light transmissive cover 60 and the printed circuit board 10 is a substantially airtight sealing connection that substantially hermetically seals the interior volume 70. In other embodiments, the connection between the perimeter 62 and the printed circuit board 10 is not a hermetic seal, but rather may contain one or more gaps, openings, or the like.
A phosphor 72 (indicated by a dotted line in
Some various suitable phosphor compounds that can be used alone as a single-compound phosphor composition and/or in combination with other phosphor compounds as a multiple-compound phosphor composition are listed here:
It should be noted that various phosphors are described herein in which different elements enclosed in parentheses and separated by commas, such as in the above Ca1-d-eCedEueAl1-d(Mg,Zn)dSiN3 phosphor. As understood by those skilled in the art, this type of notation means that the phosphor can include any or all of those specified elements in the formulation in any ratio from 0 to 100%. That is, this type of notation, for the above phosphor for example, has the same meaning as Ca1-d-eCedEueAl1-d(Mg1-qZnq)dSiN3, wherein 0≦q≦1.
In some embodiments, a phosphor composition including phosphor compounds Sr4Al14O25:Eu2+ and (Ca,Sr,Ba)MgAl10O17:Eu2+,Mn2+ are employed to produce a green light suitable for use in application such as traffic signals. Similarly, other listed phosphors are also suitable for producing saturated colors and/or as phosphor compound components in white phosphor compositions.
In one embodiment, the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 are blue, violet, or ultraviolet emitters such as group III-nitride light emitting diodes, and the phosphor 72 converts most or substantially all of the light generated by the chips 12, 14, 16 into white light. In another embodiment the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 are blue light emitters such as group III-nitride light emitting diodes, and the phosphor 72 is a yellow phosphor that converts some of the blue light into yellow light wherein direct blue light and indirect yellow phosphor-generated light combine to produce white light. In yet another embodiment the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 are blue, violet, or ultraviolet emitters and the phosphor 72 converts most or substantially all of the emitted light into light of a selected color, such as green, yellow, red, or so forth, so that the light emitting package 8 produces a colored light. These are examples only, and substantially any down-conversion of light produced by the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 can be performed by suitable selection of light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 outputting at a selected wavelength and suitable selection of the phosphor 72. In some embodiments, the phosphor 72 is omitted and the direct light produced by the light emitting diodes 12, 14, 16 is the light output of the light emitting package.
In some embodiments, the light transmissive cover 60 is a glass cover, where “glass” is not limited to silica-based materials but rather encompasses substantially any inorganic, amorphous light transmissive material. Making the cover 60 of glass has certain advantages over plastic or other organic covers. Glass typically has better thermal stability than most plastics. Glass is more readily coated with optical coatings such as wavelength-selective reflective coatings, wavelength-selective absorbing coatings, or the like. Glass is also typically more resistant to scratching compared with most plastics. Moreover, glass has particular advantages in embodiments in which the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 produce ultraviolet or short-wavelength visible light, because light at these wavelengths can discolor or otherwise degrade the optical quality of light transmissive plastics over time. Optionally, a glass is selected which provides high reflectivity or absorption in the ultraviolet. In other embodiments, the light transmissive cover 60 is made of plastic, Teflon, epoxy, EVA, acrylic, or another organic light transmissive material. In yet other contemplated embodiments, the cover 60 is made of a crystalline light transmissive material such as crystalline quartz. Such crystalline covers typically share many of the advantages of glass covers.
The printed circuit board 10 can include various reflective coatings or reflective surfaces for improving light extraction efficiency. In some embodiments, substantially the entire surface of the printed circuit board on which the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 and the cover 60 are disposed is reflective for both light produced by the light emitting chips and for light produced by the phosphor 72. In other embodiments, that portion or area of the printed circuit board surface covered by the cover 60 is reflective for both light produced by the light emitting chips and for light produced by the phosphor 72, while that portion or area of the printed circuit board surface outside of the cover 60 is reflective principally for light produced by the phosphor 72. These latter embodiments are suitable when substantially all of the direct light produced by the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 is converted by the phosphor, so that the output light is substantially entirely due to the phosphor. By using different reflective coatings or surfaces inside of and outside of the cover 60, each reflective coating or surface can be independently optimized for the spectrum of light which it is intended to reflect.
It will be appreciated that the term “light transmissive” as used herein to describe the cover 60 refers to the desired light output produced by the light emitting package 8. The light output includes light generated by the phosphor 72, if present, responsive to irradiation by the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16. In some embodiments, the light output includes a portion or all of the direct light produced by the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16. Examples of the latter embodiments are a white light in which the white output light is a blending of blue light emitted by the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 and yellow light emitted by the phosphor 72, or embodiments in which the phosphor 72 is omitted entirely. Where the direct light produced by the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 contributes to the output light, the cover 60 should be at least partially light transmissive for that direct light. In embodiments where the output light is solely produced by the phosphor 72, on the other hand, the cover 60 may be light transmissive for the phosphor output but partially or wholly reflective or absorbing for the direct light produced by the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16.
An example of such a light emitting package is a white light emitting package in which the output white light is produced by the phosphor 72 responsive to ultraviolet light produced by the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16. The term “ultraviolet” is intended to encompass light produced by the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 whose peak wavelength is less than or about 425 nm. In such embodiments, including both an ultraviolet-reflective coating on the cover 60 and an ultraviolet-reflective coating on the printed circuit board 10 can effectively retain ultraviolet light produced by the ultraviolet light emitting diodes within the interior volume 70 so that the ultraviolet light has multiple opportunities through multiple reflections to interact with the phosphor 72, thus enhancing the ultraviolet-to-white light conversion efficiency. For retaining light, disposing the ultraviolet reflective coating on the inside of the cover 60 is advantageous to avoid ultraviolet absorption losses in the cover 60. Alternatively, the ultraviolet reflecting coating can be disposed on the outside of the cover 60, or as an embedded layer or thin region within the cover 60.
The phosphor 72 can be applied to the inside surface of the light transmissive cover 60 using a suitable phosphor coating process, such as for example, electrostatic coating, slurry coating, spray coating, or so forth. Moreover, the phosphor can be disposed elsewhere besides on the inside surface of the cover 60. For example, the phosphor can be applied to the outside surface of the cover 60, using for example spray coating, outer surface coating, or the like, or to both the inside and outside surfaces of the cover 60. In yet another embodiment, the phosphor is embedded in the material of the light transmissive cover 60. However, phosphor is not readily embedded into most glass or crystalline materials. In some embodiments the phosphor is disposed in a glass binder that is spun onto or otherwise coated onto the inside and/or outside surface of the cover 60.
In one suitable phosphor application process, the inside surface of the cover 60 is prepared by treatment with a liquid or low viscosity semi-solid material acting as a glue. The liquid material can be, for example, liquid epoxy or silicone. The glue material can be applied in a variety of ways, such as by spraying, brushing, or dipping of its working formulation or a solution thereof in a suitable solvent such as acetone, methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), or t-butyl acetate. The phosphor is then deposited by dusting, dipping or pouring of phosphor in powder form, the choice of deposition method being based on the nature of the inside surface of the cover 60. For example, pour phosphor powder is suitably poured into the concave inside surface of the cover 60. On the other hand, dipping is generally a better method for coating the outside surface of the cover 60. The glue is then hardened by solvent evaporation, thermal or UV curing, or the like to form the phosphor layer.
Repetitions or various combinations of the above-described example phosphor deposition and hardening processes may be performed, for example to deposit more than one layer of phosphor or multiple layers of phosphor blends, or as needed to attain a required thickness or layered phosphor structure. Optionally, the phosphor coating may be covered with a final layer of clear glue or other suitable material to provide mechanical protection, to filter out ambient ultraviolet light or excess radiation from the light emitting dice 12, 14, 16, or so forth.
As noted previously, the light transmissive cover 60 optionally includes one or more optical coatings besides the phosphor 72. In some embodiments, an anti-reflective coating is applied to the inside and/or outside surface of the cover 60 to promote light transmission. In embodiments in which the direct light produced by the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 does not form part of the output light, the light transmissive cover 60 optionally includes a wavelength-selective reflective coating to reflect the direct light back into the interior volume 70 where it has additional opportunity to interact with the phosphor 72.
In preferred embodiments, the light transmissive cover 60 is a single piece cover, such as a single piece glass cover, a single piece molded plastic cover, or the like. Manufacturing the cover 60 as a single piece simplifies assembly of the lighting package 8. Another advantage of a single piece cover 60 is that a substantially hermetic sealing of the interior volume 70 is obtained by ensuring a substantially hermetic seal between the perimeter 62 of the cover 60 and the printed circuit board 10. The light transmissive cover 60 can include facets, fresnel lens contours, or other light refractive features that promote light scattering to produce a more spatially uniform light output. Similarly, the light transmissive cover 60 can be made of a frosted glass that has been etched with sand or the like to produce light scattering. Optionally, the cover 60 includes an anti-shatter coating such as CovRguard™ (available from General Electric Company, GE Lighting Division, Nela Park, Cleveland, Ohio), Teflon, urethane, vinyl, or so forth.
With particular reference to
In some embodiments, the phosphor is dispersed in a binding material that is the same material as the encapsulant 76. In other embodiments the phosphor-binding material is a different material that has a good refractive index match with the encapsulant 76. In yet other embodiments, the encapsulant 76 serves as the binding material for the phosphor 72. It will be appreciated that while the phosphor 72 is shown in
In embodiments in which the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 are bare dice, that is, are not individually encapsulated, the encapsulant 76 provides a common encapsulation of the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 which protects the chips from damage due to exposure to moisture or other detrimental environmental effects. The encapsulant 76 may also provide potting of the light emitting dice or chips 12, 14, 16 to improve the robustness of the lighting package 8 and make the lighting package 8 more resistant to damage from vibrations or other mechanical disturbances.
In some embodiments the cover 60 is sealed to the printed circuit board 10, and the encapsulant 76 is injected into the interior volume 70 after the light transmissive cover is sealed. To enable encapsulant injection, openings 80, 82 are provided in the printed circuit board 10. Alternatively, openings can be provided in the light transmissive cover or at the interface between the perimeter of the cover and the printed circuit board. At least two such openings 80, 82 are preferably provided, so that while encapsulant material is injected into one opening displaced air can exit via another opening. In other embodiments, a single elongated or otherwise enlarged opening is used to provide room for both the inflowing encapsulant and the outflowing displaced air.
In embodiments in which the interior volume 70 is substantially hermetically sealed, the injected encapsulant 76 can be a liquid or non-rigid semi-solid encapsulant, such as an optical gel, that is contained by the hermetically sealed interior volume 70. The liquid or non-rigid semi-solid encapsulant may be left uncured in some embodiments, since the hermetic seal prevents leakage of the encapsulant. Moreover, a hermetic seal optionally allows the encapsulant to be injected under some pressure, so that the encapsulant is at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. In some embodiments, the interior volume 70 is not hermetically sealed, and some of the injected encapsulant material may leak out. It will be appreciated that for encapsulant material of reasonably high viscosity, the amount of leaked encapsulant material is limited, and such leaked encapsulant material may even be advantageous insofar as it may help seal the interior volume 70 when the injected encapsulant is cured or otherwise hardened into a solid.
With continuing reference to
With reference to
With returning reference to
With reference to
By varying the ratio or blending of two or more constituent phosphor compositions of substantially the same color point but different CRI values, one can alter the final CRI and luminosity characteristics of the device in a continuous fashion. By using a mixture of the constituent phosphor compositions, a continuous range of CRI values are achievable. For some such mixtures, the CRI value of the blended light may be larger than the CRI value of any of the constituent phosphor compositions acting alone. Advantageously, the CRI (e.g. maximize it for a given minimal luminosity requirement) or the luminosity (e.g. maximize it for a given minimal CRI requirement) of the lighting device 608 is tunable without affecting the chemical makeup of either the phosphor compounds or the constituent phosphor compositions configured for the color point target. This affords a set of at least two constituent phosphor compositions to be used for the manufacturing of white light sources with the same or similar color point but with CRI or luminosity values customized for specific applications. Some suitable approaches for optimizing or selecting the CRI using two or more constituent phosphor compositions having about the same color coordinates are disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 10/909,564 filed Nov. 2, 2004 which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. In some embodiments, the at least two different constituent phosphor compositions are selected to provide white light with color coordinates lying on or near the blackbody locus and a color temperature less than 4500K.
With reference to
It is to be appreciated that the CRI-tuning mixture of phosphor compositions (A,B,C) and (B,C,D) is an example. Other mixtures can be used so long as the constituent phosphor compositions produce converted light at about the same color point of interest. In some CRI tuned embodiments, the constituent phosphor compositions each produce constituent converted light which is white light or substantially white light, that is, which lies on or substantially on the black body locus of the 1931 CIE chromaticity diagram. Such constituent phosphor compositions are suitably operated in conjunction with one or more ultraviolet light emitting chips or dice, that is, with chips or dice that emit peak radiation below or about at 425 nm. In these embodiments, the bleed-through light produced by the at least one light emitting die has a negligible contribution to the visible spectrum of the converted light of the different phosphor compositions blended with bleed-through light produced by the at least one light emitting die. This negligible contribution can result from an arrangement in which the conversion efficiency of the light produced by the at least one light emitting die is close to 100%. This negligible contribution can also result from the at least one light emitting die emitting light substantially outside of the visible spectrum.
In other CRI tuned embodiments, the output converted light produced by blending of the constituent converted light of the constituent phosphor compositions combined with radiation produced by the at least one light emitting die that bleeds through the phosphor layer 72 to contribute to light output of the light emitting package 8 is white light or substantially white light, that is, lies on or substantially on the black body locus of the 1931 CIE chromaticity diagram. In some such embodiments, the phosphor compositions have color points corresponding to yellowish or orangish light and are suitably operated in conjunction with one or more blue light emitting chips or dice, that is, with chips or dice that emit peak radiation in the blue or bluish visible range. The bleed-through blue or bluish light combines with the yellowish or orangish converted light to provide white light output of the light emitting package. In other such embodiments, the phosphor compositions produce white or substantially white light with low intensity in the blue or bluish range, and the one or more light emitting chips or dice emit peak radiation in the blue or bluish visible range that bolsters the spectrum of the blended light in the blue or bluish range of the visible spectrum.
With reference to
With reference to
The lighting package 208 differs from the lighting package 8 in the configuration of the encapsulant disposed in the interior volume. In the lighting package 208, a first encapsulant 276 encapsulates and optionally pots the light emitting dice or chips 212, but does not substantially fill the interior volume 270. In some embodiments, the first encapsulant 276 may encapsulate only the one or more light emitting dice 212. A second encapsulant 278 encapsulates the phosphor 272 if such a phosphor is included in the package 208. In some embodiments, the second encapsulant 278 is the binding material of the phosphor 270. For example, the phosphor 272 may be applied to the inside surface of the cover 260, and the encapsulant in this embodiment is the binding material of the applied phosphor. Generally, the first and second encapsulants 276, 278 can be different materials. A substantial gap 280 extends between the first and second encapsulants 276, 278. Typically, the gap 280 contains air; however, it is also contemplated to fill the gap 280 with an inert gas to reduce moisture in the lighting package 208. In yet another embodiment, the gap 280 is filled with a third encapsulant different from at least one of the first and second encapsulants 276, 278. In the lighting package 208, there is no groove in the printed circuit board 210 for receiving the perimeter 262 of the cover 260. However, such a groove similar to the groove 66 of the lighting package 8 can optionally be provided to align and optionally help secure the cover 260 to the printed circuit board 210.
With continuing reference to
Separately, the inside surface (and/or optionally the outside surface) of the light transmissive cover 260 is coated with the phosphor 272 in a phosphorizing process 310. In embodiments in which the cover has the phosphor embedded therein, the phosphorizing process 310 is omitted and instead the phosphor is incorporated during molding or other formation of the cover 260. The phosphor is encapsulated on the light transmissive cover 260 in a second encapsulation process 312, and the second encapsulant 278 is cured in a second curing process 314 applied to the light transmissive cover 314. If the phosphor 272 is omitted from the package 208, then process 310, 312, and 314 are suitably omitted. In some embodiments the second encapsulant 278 is the binding material of the phosphor 272; in these embodiments, the phosphorization process 310 and the second encapsulation process 312 are integrated. The light transmissive cover is then secured, optionally sealed, to the printed circuit board 210 in a securing process 316. The securing process 316 defines the interior volume 270, which is optionally a hermetically sealed volume.
With reference to
With continuing reference to
With reference to
In some contemplated embodiments, the printed circuit board 510 is a flexible printed circuit board, so that the light source of
One advantage of the lighting packaging techniques disclosed herein is flexibility in deployment of phosphor compositions. One or more phosphor layers are readily disposed on the inner surface of the cover, for example as described previously with respect to phosphorization operations 104, 310 of
With reference to
While two phosphor layers LA, LB are illustrated, it will be appreciated that three or more phosphor layers can be provided so as to produce light output which is a blend three or more phosphors. The dome-shaped cover 660 provides a convenient platform for arranging one, two, or more phosphor layers each of which emits a spatially uniform distribution of light subtending about 2π steradians or more.
It is contemplated to employ the layered approach of
CRI tuning using a single layer containing two or more constituent phosphor compositions of about the same color point has been described with example reference to
With continuing reference to
It is to be appreciated that the phosphors can be disposed in other spatially separated arrangements besides layers. For example, in some embodiments, the first phosphor composition may be arranged physically as a layer disposed on an inside or outside surface of the light-transmissive cover, while the second phosphor composition may be dispersed in an encapsulant filling the interior volume.
With reference to
With reference to
Some additional embodiments are disclosed as follows.
Although the discussion below with respect to embodiments of the present invention is directed to LEDs for convenience, it should be understood that the invention relates to the use of any light emitting semiconductor. With reference to
The LED assembly includes an LED chip 1012 mounted on a bottom surface 1014 of the LED assembly. The LED chip 1012 emits radiation (typically UV or blue light in a white light LED). A lens 1018 made from a transparent material surrounds the chip 1012 and bottom surface 1014. Two lead wires 1020 connect the chip 1012 to a source of power. Filling the space 1022 between the lens and the chip 1012 is typically an epoxy or other transparent material (not shown). Intimately dispersed within the epoxy are phosphor particles (not shown) that absorb at least a portion of the light emitted by the chip 1012 and converting it to a different wavelength.
With reference to
The LED chip 1112 can be any conventional UV or blue light LED. Such LEDs are known and typically consist of InGaN or AlGaN layers epitaxially grown on a sapphire, alumina or single crystal SiC substrate. A preferred LED chip may have a primary emission in the range of 200-480 nm. Likewise, the phosphor layer 1124 may include one or more suitable fluorescent phosphors capable of absorbing the UV or blue radiation and in turn of producing, either alone or in combination with the radiation emitted by the LED chip, a visible white or near-white light for illumination. Suitable phosphors for use in the present invention include, but are not limited to, Y3Al5O2:Ce (YAG:Ce), Tb3Al4.9O12:Ce (TAG:Ce), and Sr4Al14O25:Eu (SAE). Other white light producing phosphors are also suitable. The size of the phosphor particles is not critical, and may be, by way of example, about 3-30 μm in diameter.
The lens 1118 may be made from any material that is substantially transparent to the radiation emitted by the phosphor and the LED chip. Thus, depending on the wavelength of the emitted radiation, the lens may comprise various materials including, but not limited to, glass, epoxy, plastic, thermoset or thermoplastic resins, or any other type of LED encapsulating material known in the art.
The providing of the phosphor coating 1124 on an inside surface of the lens 1118 rather than dispersed in the epoxy or other fill material provides a more uniform and efficient conversion of the LED emission. One advantage is that a uniform coating of controlled thickness may be applied. One benefit of this is that coating thickness can be accurately controlled for optimum conversion efficiency and UV bleed through (if a UV emitting chip is used) control using a minimum amount of phosphor. This helps to achieve uniform light emission without incidence of color rings resulting from non-uniform dispersion of the phosphor in prior art devices. Another benefit is that the phosphor is remote from the heat generated by the LED, further increasing the conversion efficiency. Of course, the phosphor layer may be positioned inside the lens material or have a coating of another material positioned over it, and such an arrangement is contemplated herein.
Although not intended to be limiting, the phosphor coating may be applied by, for example, spray coating, roller coating, meniscus or dip coating, stamping, screening, dispensing, rolling, brushing or spraying or any other method that can provide a coating of even thickness. A preferred method for applying the phosphor is by spray coating.
In an exemplary technique for coating the lens and reflector parts of the LED housing, the phosphor powder is first stirred into a slurry, along with a binder and a solvent. Suitable binders include, but are not limited to, silicone, epoxies, thermoplastics, acrylics, polyimides, and mixtures thereof. Suitable solvents include, but are not limited to, low boiling point solvents such as toluene, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), methylene chloride, and acetone. The amount of each component in the slurry is not critical, but should be chosen so as to produce a slurry that is easily applied to the lens while also containing a sufficient concentration of phosphor particles for efficient conversion of the LED radiation. An exemplary slurry can be made using about 2 parts by weight of a 6 μm phosphor, 1.2 parts silicone, and 1 part MEK. A suitable silicone is GE XE5844.
The slurry is subsequently applied to the surface of the lens. The coated lens may then be baked, heated or otherwise treated to remove the solvent and cure the binder. As used herein, the term “cure” is meant to encompass not only actual curing or crosslinking of the binder, but also more generally to indicate any chemical and/or physical change in the binder to a state in which the phosphor particles become relatively stationary in the binder, typically due to a solidifying or hardening of the binder.
As noted above, the slurry can be applied to the lens via any suitable method. In a preferred method, the slurry is applied by spray coating. In this method, the slurry is used to fill the reservoir of a suitable air brush. The slurry is then sprayed using a pressurized spray gun onto the lens, which is preheated and kept on a hot plate at an elevated temperature preferably above the boiling temperature of the solvent, for example at about 110° C. The part is sprayed by making successive passes, which may be done at about ½ second per pass. The slurry dries on contact and a uniform coating is achieved. A coating approximately 4 layers thick (about 20-30 μm using 6 μm size phosphor particles) is achieved on the lens with 35-40 passes. The lens is then baked to cure the binder. It is planned that this approach to coating LED's would be used for any LED's for general illumination. If desired, a second coating of a transparent material may be added over the phosphor layer to protect the phosphor or to provide an overcoating to help light extraction.
A significant improvement in light output has been achieved using blue LED's with the YAG phosphor over the conventional coating method wherein the phosphor is embedded in the slurry and uniformly applied around the chip. Clearly there are many other ways to remotely the lens surrounding an LED chip. These would be considered within the scope of this invention.
In one preferred embodiment, the lens preferably has a radius that is at least about 2-3 times the length (“L”) of one side of the chip. This arrangement increases the likelihood that radiation generated or reflected off a coating applied to such a lens is more likely to strike other parts of the coating, where it will be retransmitted, rather than the chip or other non-coated area, where it will be absorbed and lost.
In a second embodiment, illustrated in
The phosphor layer 1224 over the reflective layer 1240 on the reflector 1216 is preferably relatively thick, i.e. greater than 5 layers of powder, while the phosphor layer on the curved top of the hemisphere may be adjusted to achieve a desired color and to absorb all radiation incident on it. In general the phosphor layer on the top of the hemisphere will range between 1-4 layers thick in the case of blue emitting chips in order that some of the blue radiation be emitted. In the case of UV chips the layer of phosphor coating on the hemisphere should be 4-8 layers thick in order to absorb at least most of the UV radiation emitted by the chip.
As shown in
In such an arrangement, although there may be a significant amount of blue or UV radiation scattered back into the hemisphere, nearly all this radiation, which is diffusely scattered, strikes other parts of the phosphor coating rather than the chip or submount. Most of the visible light generated by the phosphor coating also is directed back into the hemisphere. Also there is no metallic reflector and no exposed lead structure. The important feature of this geometry is that everything except the LED chip 1212 is phosphor covered and the phosphor surface area of the hemisphere is much larger, preferably greater than 10 times, the surface area of any absorbing parts of the LED. Therefore, nearly all radiation going back into the hemisphere will strike other phosphor-coated areas and be either reflected or absorbed and retransmitted by the phosphor. The embodiments disclosed herein are calculated to have an efficiency greater than 70%, and in most cases approaching 100%.
In Table 1 the efficiency of this design is compared with several standard LED package geometries. These comparisons were made using a computer simulation. The computer simulation is a flux model described below. It considers all the radiation fluxes and assumes that all are diffuse so that the amount of radiation incident on any given surface is proportional to its area. As shown in Table 1 the geometry described above provides a package efficiency of essentially 100%.
From the previous embodiments, It is apparent that the specific shape of the phosphor coating is not important as long as it surrounds as completely as possible the LED chip and is a distance sufficient from this chip (e.g. a distance such that the phosphor coated surface has a surface area greater than about 10 times the exposed surface area of the chip) such that radiation scattered from the coating is unlikely to strike the chip or chip structures. The invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but intended to embrace all such coating shapes, and preferably wherein the phosphor covered surfaces has approximately 10 times the exposed area of the absorbing parts of the LED or greater. Thus, the lens on which the phosphor is coated is not limited to hemispherical or spherical, but can include any geometric shape, preferably with the phosphor coated surface area being about at least 10 times the exposed area of the absorbing parts of the LED.
The invention is also intended to cover geometries which are not so ideal and perhaps do not give the full advantage of 100% package efficiency but nevertheless do utilize the principle of a remote phosphor coating designed so that the coated surface is at least 10 times the emitting area of the chip. For example
Most of the UV or blue radiation and visible radiation which is scattered back from the phosphor coating strikes either the reflector cup 1416 or other phosphor surface. Only a relatively small amount strikes the light absorbing chip and submount. In this design it is important that the reflector cup 1416 be made of a very highly reflective material, for example a vapor deposited and protected silver coating with greater than 95% reflectivity or an inorganic powder of high purity, such as finely divided alumina or titania. In addition the reflector cup 1416 may or may not be coated with the phosphor. Table 1 shows the simulated performance of a specific LED with an area of 1.6 mm2 on a submount in a silver reflector cup utilizing a phosphor coated lens of area of 27 mm2.
As shown in
As detailed above, any of the embodiments may include an epoxy or other transparent filler between the LED chip and the phosphor coated lens. More efficient extraction of light can be realized when the refractive index of the encapsulant or transparent filler is closely matching the geometric mean of the refractive indexes of the die and the lens, preferably within about 20% of this value, and even more preferably within about 10%. This reduces the amount of internal reflections in the lamp. Thus, in the case of a GaN LED chip having a refractive index of about 2.7 with a lens having a refractive index of about 1.5, the filler will preferably have a refractive index of from about 2.1. In the case of an LED chip having two or more materials having different refractive indices, such as a GaN semiconductor on a sapphire submount having a refractive index of about 1.7, the refractive index of the encapsulant will preferably match the geometric mean of the lens and the higher of the two. Better light extraction can thus be achieved with encapsulants having a higher index of refraction than epoxy, such as spin-on glass (SOG) or other high refractive index materials.
Any of the above embodiments can also be equipped with one or more band pass filters to further improve the efficiency of the resulting LED package. Thus, in one embodiment, as shown in
In the embodiment shown in
As seen in
The calculation results shown in Table 1 are based on a linear flux model illustrated in the
These surfaces are:
3=the upper phosphor coated surface,
2=the lower phosphor coated surface,
1=the reflector and submount, and
0=the blue or UV emitting chip.
There are nine other equations describing the blue or UV fluxes. The equations describing the blue or UV fluxes are not shown. They are coupled to the visible light equations through the quantum efficiency Q and the Stoke's s shift (λi/λI). The eighteen linear equations result in eighteen unknowns, i.e. the relative powers of radiation striking each surface, and are solved simultaneously.
The p values are the probabilities that radiation from one surface will strike another. In the calculations shown in Table 1 these were taken to be the ratios of surface areas. Q is the quantum efficiency of the phosphor. λ is the average wavelength of the blue or UV chip radiation or the average wavelength of the visible emission of the phosphor.
The other parameters needed are the reflectivities and absorptivities of the different material surfaces. These were obtained either from Handbook values or were measured directly using known methods. There are no values for the reflectivities of the chips and so these were calculated by assuming that each chip consisted of the semiconductor layers and substrate. All radiation incident on the chip was assumed to be normal and incident on the substrate in a flip-chip design and diffraction effects were ignored. Up to second order the expression for the reflectivity of the chip is then:
R=R
sub+(1−Rsub)2exp(−2asubtsub)Ract+(1−RSub)2exp(−2asubtsub)(1−Ract)2exp(−2aacttact)Rmst . . .
where:
Rsub=reflectivity of substrate Ract=reflectivity of active layers
asub=absorption cost of sub aact=absorption coefficient of active layers
tsub=thickness of substrate tact=thickness of active layers
Known or estimated values were used for the indices of refraction, the absorption coefficients and thicknesses. Thus,
R=((n1−n2)2+k2)/(n1+n2)2+k2), where k=λa/2π.
The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
The appended claims follow:
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/312,268 filed Dec. 20, 2005 which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/831,862 filed Apr. 26, 2004 and since issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,224,000 which is a continuation-in-part of International Application number PCT/US2003/027363 with an international filing date of Aug. 29, 2003 first published Mar. 11, 2004 as International Publication no. WO 2004/021461 A2, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/407,426 filed on Aug. 30, 2002. This application is also a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/909,564 filed Nov. 2, 2004 and since issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,768,189. This application incorporates by reference the content of application Ser. No. 11/312,268, which has published as US 2006-0097245 A1. This application incorporates by reference the content of application Ser. No. 10/831,862, which has issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,224,000 and has published as US 2005-0239227 A1. This application incorporates by reference the content of International Application number PCT/US2003/027363. This application incorporates by reference the content of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/407,426. This application incorporates by reference the content of application Ser. No. 10/909,564, which has published as US 2006-0022582 A1 and has issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,768,189.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60407426 | Aug 2002 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13886878 | May 2013 | US |
| Child | 14062169 | US | |
| Parent | 12884717 | Sep 2010 | US |
| Child | 13886878 | US | |
| Parent | 11312268 | Dec 2005 | US |
| Child | 10909564 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10909564 | Aug 2004 | US |
| Child | 12884717 | US | |
| Parent | 10831862 | Apr 2004 | US |
| Child | 11312268 | US | |
| Parent | PCT/US2003/027363 | Aug 2003 | US |
| Child | 10831862 | US |
