Abstract:
The present invention relates to light emitting diode (LED) packages and methods of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to an LED package and a method of manufacturing the same that can reduce a variation of color coordinates of mass-produced LED packages.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2008-0024329 filed on Mar. 17, 2008, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to light emitting diode (LED) packages and methods of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to an LED package and a method of manufacturing the same that can reduce a variation of color coordinates of mass-produced LED packages. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In general, light emitting diode (hereinafter, simply referred to as an “LED”) packages that include LEDs to generate light emission according to electrical signals are widely used in a wide variety of electronic products including mobile communication terminals, such as personal cellular phones, and PDAs. 
         [0006]    A lead frame is used, a filler, obtained by mixing phosphors and silicon, is injected into a bucket of the lead frame, and the inserted filler is cured at a high temperature, such that the LED package is manufactured. 
         [0007]      FIGS. 1 and 2  are views illustrating an LED package according to the related art.  FIG. 1  is a view illustrating a method of manufacturing an LED package according to the related art.  FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the LED package after a filler is injected into a bucket of the LED package, shown in  FIG. 1 , and then cured. 
         [0008]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to the related art, the LED package  1  includes an LED chip L. The LED chip L is mounted within an area formed by a first partition wall  2 , a second partition wall  3 , a third partition wall  4 , and a fourth partition wall by die bonding and wire bonding. A filler obtained by mixing phosphors and silicon fills in the area by using a dispenser D. 
         [0009]    That is, when a plurality of LED packages are manufactured, LED chips L are individually mounted within respective buckets B, and the exact amount of filler  6  is then injected into each of the buckets having the LED chips therein. 
         [0010]    However, when the LED package  1  is manufactured by using the above method, the filler  6  varies in height as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0011]    Further, it is also difficult for the dispenser D to fill each of the plurality of buckets B with the exact same amount of filler (since the bucket B is filled with a very small amount of filler). Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 1 , since the third partition wall  4  and the fourth partition wall  5  of the bucket B are relatively thinner than the first partition wall  2  and the second partition wall  3 , the third partition wall  3  and the fourth partition wall  5  are slightly deformed when curing the filler at a high temperature. As a result, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the filler varies in height, that is, a height a, b, or c. 
         [0012]    Therefore, when an LED package is manufactured in mass production, the filler filling in each of the LED packages has a height varying according to each of the LED packages. As a result, when the LED packages generate a light emission, they have different refractive indexes. 
         [0013]    Even when LED packages emit light of the same color, color coordinates become slightly different from each other, which results in an increase in the variation of the color coordinates. 
         [0014]    Further, since lead frames need to be designed and manufactured according to the varying thickness of the LED packages, manufacturing costs increase. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    An aspect of the present invention provides an LED package and a method of manufacturing the same that can reduce a variation of color coordinates of mass-produced LED packages, and manufacture LED packages of varying thickness by using one lead frame. 
         [0016]    According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an LED package including: a base part having a mounting portion to which an LED chip is bonded, and partition wall portions arranged at both sides facing each other of the mounting portion, the mounting portion having the other set of opposite sides opened; a filling part filling in a space formed by the mounting portion and the partition walls at both opposite sides and transmitting light generated from the LED chip; and an electrode part molded in the base part, protruding outward, and connected to the LED chip. 
         [0017]    The partition walls may include a reflective film to reflect light generated from the LED chip. 
         [0018]    The base part may be a single body. 
         [0019]    The base part may be provided by dicing a base at predetermined intervals, the base including partition walls formed at both opposite sides, and a groove formed between the partition walls and having a plurality of LED chips bonded thereto. 
         [0020]    The filling part may be provided by dicing a filler filling in a space formed by the partition walls and the groove of the base, and be exposed through the other set of opposite sides of the mounting portion. 
         [0021]    According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an LED package, the method including: providing a base having partition walls formed at both opposite sides thereof and a groove arranged between the partition walls and having both open ended portions; arranging a plurality of LED chips at predetermined intervals and bonding the LED chips to the groove; filling a space formed by the partition walls and the groove with a filler and curing the filler; and dicing the base filled with the filler at predetermined intervals. 
         [0022]    The filling a space with a filler may include providing screen members at both open ended portions of the base, and filling a space formed by the partition walls, the groove, and the screen members. 
         [0023]    The method may further include removing the screen members before or after the dicing the base. 
         [0024]    In the bonding the LED chips to the groove, the LED chips may be arranged at irregular intervals according to the thickness of required LED packages, and in the dicing the base, the base may be diced to separate the LED chips having thickness varying according to the thickness of the required LED packages. 
         [0025]    The providing a base may further include forming a reflective film on the partition walls to reflect light generated from the LED chips. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0026]    The above and other aspects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0027]      FIG. 1  is a view illustrating a method of manufacturing an LED package according to the related art; 
           [0028]      FIG. 2  is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the LED package manufactured by the method of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating an LED package according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 4  is a view illustrating a method of manufacturing a package body according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0031]      FIG. 5  is a view illustrating a package body manufactured by the method of  FIG. 4 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0032]    An LED package and a method of manufacturing the same according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0033]    First, an LED package according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating the LED package according to the embodiment of the invention. 
         [0034]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , an LED package  10  according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention includes a base part  11 , a filling part  12 , and an electrode part  13 . 
         [0035]    Partition wall portions  11   b  are formed at both sides of the base part  11 , and a mounting portion  11   a  is provided between the partition wall portions  11   b.    
         [0036]    An LED chip (not shown) is connected to the mounting portion  11   a  by bonding (including at least one of die bonding and wire bonding). As the filling part  12  fills in the mounting portion  11   a , the LED chip is buried in the filling part  12 . The LED chip (not shown) is electrically connected to the electrode part  13 . 
         [0037]    As described above, the base part  11  of the LED package according to this embodiment includes the partition wall portions  11   b  at both sides facing each other of the mounting portion  11   a . At the same time, the other set of opposite sides are opened. 
         [0038]    The electrode part  13  is blocked by the partition wall portions  11   b , but at the same time, both sides of the electrode part  13  are exposed to the outside. 
         [0039]    Preferably, a reflective film is formed on the partition wall portions  11   b  in order to reflect light generated from the LED chip. 
         [0040]    A package body is manufactured, and then the LED package  10  is manufactured by dicing the package body. A method of manufacturing the LED package  10  will be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 4  is a view illustrating a process of manufacturing a package body that is used to manufacture an LED package according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 5  is a view illustrating the package body that is manufactured by the manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the invention, shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0042]    First, a process of manufacturing a package body  100  that is used to manufacture the LED package according to the embodiment of the invention, as shown in  FIG. 5 , will be described with reference to  FIG. 4 . 
         [0043]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , a base  110  with large length is provided. Partition walls  112  are provided at a predetermined height on both sides of the base  110 . A groove  111  is provided between the partition walls  112  along a longitudinal direction, and has a predetermined width. Both end portions of the groove  111  are opened. 
         [0044]    Preferably, the base  110  is formed of resin by injection molding to thereby form a single body together with the partition walls  112  and the groove  111 . Preferably, a reflective film  121  is also formed on the partition walls  112  so as to reflect light generated by the emission of LED chips. 
         [0045]    A plurality of LED chips are arranged at predetermined intervals, and bonded to the groove  111 . 
         [0046]    Screen members  120  are located at both opened ends of the groove  111 . The screen members  120  may have substantially the same height as the partition walls  112 . Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the screen members  120  may have a greater height than the partition walls  112 . 
         [0047]    Here, a predetermined space that is formed by the groove  111 , the partition walls  112 , and the screen member  120  is filled with a predetermined filler by using a dispenser D. 
         [0048]    This filler is a liquid mixture of phosphors, silicon, and the like to transmit light that is generated from the LED chips. 
         [0049]    The partition walls  112  are plated or coated with the reflective film  121  or applied with a reflective material. Further, the partition walls  112  are inclined at a predetermined angle. Accordingly, the partition walls  112  can reflect light generated by the LED chips to emit the light to the outside. 
         [0050]    Then, the filler fills in the base  110 , shown in  FIG. 4 , and is cured at a high temperature, thereby manufacturing the package body  100  as shown in  FIG. 5 . After the curing process is completed, the screen members  120  (reference numeral  120 , refer to  FIG. 4 ) are preferably removed. 
         [0051]    The package body  100 , shown in  FIG. 5 , is diced at predetermined intervals. The diced package body  100  is subjected to a trimming process, a forming process, and the like to thereby form a plurality of LED packages as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0052]    That is, when the package body  100  is diced, the base  110 , shown in  FIG. 5 , is diced into portions serving as the base part  11 , shown in  FIG. 3 , the partition walls  112 , shown in  FIG. 5 , are diced into portions serving as the partition wall portions  11   b , shown in  FIG. 3 , and the groove  111  is diced into portions serving as the mounting portion  11   a , shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0053]    The package body  100  is diced according to the thickness of each LED package along imaginary lines, shown in  FIG. 5 . Here, the imaginary lines indicate intervals at which the package body  100  is diced. 
         [0054]    Here, the package body  100  is not necessarily diced at regular intervals. However, the LED chips are previously arranged according to required thickness of LED packages, and the LED packages having the LED chips therein undergo the filling and curing processes. Then, the package body is diced according to the thickness of each of the LED packages. Therefore, a plurality of LED packages having different thicknesses can be manufactured. 
         [0055]    When the method according to the related art is used, the filler needs to be equally dispensed to each of the LED packages. On the other hand, when the LED packages are manufactured by the above-described method according to the embodiment of the invention, the filler uniformly fills in the groove of the one base, and then the package body is diced. A plurality of LED packages that are manufactured using one base have the same filling height of the filler. 
         [0056]    Further, in the method of manufacturing an LED package according to the related art, individual LED packages are separately cured, and thus the manufactured products may have slightly different characteristics since the LED packages may have different thermal strains. On the other hand, when an LED package is manufactured by the method according to the embodiment of the invention, the filler uniformly fills in the entire base, and then the entire base filled with the filler is cured. LED packages having substantially uniform characteristics can be manufactured this way. 
         [0057]    Further, according to the method of manufacturing an LED package according to the embodiment of the invention, the partition walls  112  are formed at both opposite sides, and at the same time, the other set of opposite sides are opened. Therefore, when the volume required to be filled with the filler needs to be constant, the thickness of the partition walls can be more increased instead of the opened portions. As a result, thermal deformation occurring when a curing process is performed at a high temperature can be effectively prevented. 
         [0058]    As set forth above, according to the exemplary embodiments of the invention, when LED packages are manufactured in mass production, the height of the filler filling in the LED packages can be uniform to thereby reduce a variation in color coordinates of the manufactured LED packages. As a result, LED packages of varying thickness can be manufactured by using one base. 
         [0059]    While the present invention has been shown and described in connection with the exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.