Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8410490B2/en
Timestamp: 2019-08-21 22:44:19
Document Index: 360220458

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 05', 'Application No. 200910224555', 'Application No. 2009', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 094131846', 'Application No. 2009', 'Application No. 05806491', 'Application No. 094112476']

US8410490B2 - LED with current confinement structure and surface roughening - Google Patents
US8410490B2
US8410490B2 US11/983,515 US98351507A US8410490B2 US 8410490 B2 US8410490 B2 US 8410490B2 US 98351507 A US98351507 A US 98351507A US 8410490 B2 US8410490 B2 US 8410490B2
US11/983,515
US20080061311A1 (en
2007-11-09 Application filed by Cree Inc filed Critical Cree Inc
2008-03-13 Publication of US20080061311A1 publication Critical patent/US20080061311A1/en
2013-04-02 Publication of US8410490B2 publication Critical patent/US8410490B2/en
This is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/042,030, filed Jan. 24, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,335,920.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,410,942, assigned to. Cree Inc., discloses an LED structure that includes an array of electrically interconnected micro LEDs formed between first and second spreading layers. When a bias is applied across the spreaders, the micro LEDs emit light. Light from each of the micro LEDs reaches a surface after traveling only a short distance, thereby reducing TIR.
Depending on the LED configuration, the support structure 36 which may be a substrate or a submount. In a p-side up LED configuration, the support structure 36 would be a substrate, with a suitable substrate being a 4H polytype of silicon carbide, although other silicon carbide polytypes can also be used including 3C, 6H and 15R polytypes. Silicon carbide has a much closer crystal lattice-match to Group III nitrides than sapphire and results in Group III nitride films of higher quality. Silicon carbide also has a very high thermal conductivity so that the total output power of Group III nitride devices on silicon carbide is not limited by the thermal dissipation of the substrate (as may be the case with some devices formed on sapphire). Also, the availability of silicon carbide substrates provides the capacity for device isolation and reduced parasitic capacitance that make commercial devices possible. SiC substrates are available from Cree, Inc., of Durham, N.C. and methods for producing them are set forth in the scientific literature as well as in a U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 34,861; 4,946,547; and 5,200,022. For an n-side up LED configuration, the support structure 36 would be a submount.
a first layer of semiconductor material having an associated first contact and first surface through which light is emitted;
a second layer of semiconductor material having an associated continuous, metal second contact layer in direct contact with said second layer;
an active region between the first layer and the second layer;
a confinement structure in the continuous, metal second contact layer, the confinement structure being completely surrounded by said continuous, metal second contact layer and directing current flowing toward the active region away from an area of the active region that is substantially coincident with an area of the confinement structure; and
a roughened surface of said light emitting diode.
2. The LED of claim 1 wherein the confinement structure comprises an insulating, non-conducting material.
3. The LED of claim 2 wherein the insulating, non-conducting material comprises one of SiO2, AlN and SiN.
4. The LED of claim 1 wherein the confinement structure is generally axially aligned with the first contact.
5. The LED of claim 1 wherein the continuous, metal second contact layer is formed of a reflective material.
6. The LED of claim 1 wherein said roughened surface comprises at least a portion of the first surface.
7. The LED of claim 1 wherein said roughened surface comprises a layer of at least partially roughened transparent conducting material adjacent the first surface.
8. The LED of claim 7 wherein the transparent material comprises one of ZnO, In2O3 and indium tin oxide (ITO).
a first contact associated with said first semiconductor material;
a second semiconductor material;
a continuous, reflective second contact layer in direct contact with said second semiconductor material; and
an active region interposed between said first and second semiconductor materials;
a confinement structure comprising an insulating material disposed in said continuous, reflective second contact layer, the confinement structure being completely surrounded by said continuous, reflective second contact layer and reducing current flow around an area of said active region that is generally axially aligned with said first contact; and
a roughened surface of said LED.
a transparent conductive material on a primary light emitting surface of said first semiconductor material.
11. The LED of claim 10, said transparent conductive material comprising at least one material selected from the list consisting of ZnO, In2O3 and indium tin oxide (ITO).
12. The LED of claim 10, wherein said roughened surface comprises a roughened surface of said transparent conductive material.
13. The LED of claim 9, further comprising a transparent conductive oxide interposed between said primary light emitting surface of said first semiconductor material and said first contact.
14. The LED of claim 13, wherein said transparent conductive oxide is indium tin oxide.
15. The LED of claim 9, wherein said continuous, reflective second contact layer comprises metal.
16. The LED of claim 9, wherein said second semiconductor material is p-type.
17. The LED of claim 9, wherein said first semiconductor material comprises an n-type semiconductor material and said second semiconductor material comprises a p-type semiconductor material.
18. The LED of claim 9, wherein said first semiconductor material comprises a p-type semiconductor material and said second semiconductor material comprises an n-type semiconductor material.
19. The LED of claim 9, wherein said roughened surface comprises at least a portion of said first semiconductor material.
a continuous, metal second contact layer associated with said second semiconductor material; and
a confinement structure disposed in said continuous, metal second contact layer and being completely surrounded by said continuous, metal second contact layer, such that current flows around an area of said active region that is generally axially aligned with said first contact, reducing the radiative recombination in said area;
a transparent conductive material different from said first and second semiconductor materials on said first material and said first contact; and
21. The LED of claim 20, wherein said first semiconductor material is p-type, said transparent conductive material is on said first semiconductor material, and said first semiconductor material comprises a primary light emitting surface.
22. The LED of claim 21, wherein said roughened surface comprises a roughened surface of said transparent conductive material.
23. The LED of claim 20, said transparent conductive material comprising at least one material selected from the list consisting of ZnO, In2O3 and indium tin oxide (ITO).
24. The LED of claim 20, wherein said roughened surface comprises a roughened surface of said transparent conductive material opposite said p-type material.
25. A light emitting diode (LED) comprising:
a first semiconductor material comprising a primary light emitting surface;
a second semiconductor material; and
a confinement structure disposed directly on said second semiconductor material such that current flows around an area of said active region that is generally axially aligned with said first contact, reducing the radiative recombination in said area;
a continuous, reflective layer disposed directly on said second semiconductor material and completely surrounding said confinement structure; and
26. The LED of claim 25, further comprising a support structure disposed on the opposite side of said LED from said primary light emitting surface.
27. The LED of claim 25, further comprising a transparent conductive material of a material different from said first and second semiconductor materials.
28. The LED of claim 27, said transparent conductive material comprising at least one material selected from the list consisting of ZnO, In2O3 and indium tin oxide (ITO).
29. The LED of claim 27, wherein said transparent conductive material is on said primary light emitting surface of said first semiconductor material.
30. The LED of claim 29 wherein said roughened surface comprises a roughened surface of said transparent conductive material.
31. The LED of claim 25, wherein said first semiconductor material is n-type and said second semiconductor material is p-type.
32. The LED of claim 31, wherein said roughened surface comprises a roughened surface of said first semiconductor material.
33. The LED of claim 31, wherein said continuous, reflective layer is a second contact associated with said second semiconductor material.
34. The LED of claim 25, wherein said first semiconductor material is p-type and said second semiconductor material is n-type.
35. The LED of claim 34, further comprising a transparent conducting material different from said first semiconductor material on said first semiconductor material.
36. The LED of claim 35, wherein said roughened surface comprises a roughened surface of said transparent conducting material.
37. The LED of claim 36, further comprising a support structure on said second semiconductor material, said continuous, reflective layer being on said support structure opposite said second semiconductor material.
US11/983,515 2005-01-24 2007-11-09 LED with current confinement structure and surface roughening Active US8410490B2 (en)
US11/042,030 Division US7335920B2 (en) 2005-01-24 2005-01-24 LED with current confinement structure and surface roughening
US12/079,486 Continuation US8410499B2 (en) 2005-01-24 2008-03-25 LED with a current confinement structure aligned with a contact
US12/581,759 Continuation US8541788B2 (en) 2005-01-24 2009-10-19 LED with current confinement structure and surface roughening
US20080061311A1 US20080061311A1 (en) 2008-03-13
US8410490B2 true US8410490B2 (en) 2013-04-02
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JP5235408B2 (en) 2005-03-31 2013-07-10 富士フイルム株式会社 Dye-containing curable composition, and a color filter and manufacturing method thereof
JP2006502563A (en) 2002-07-22 2006-01-19 クリー インコーポレイテッドＣｒｅｅ Ｉｎｃ． Light emitting diode and a manufacturing method thereof comprising a barrier layer
US7009214B2 (en) 2003-10-17 2006-03-07 Atomic Energy Council —Institute of Nuclear Energy Research Light-emitting device with a current blocking structure and method for making the same
WO2006011936A2 (en) 2004-06-30 2006-02-02 Cree, Inc. Light emitting devices having current blocking structures and methods of fabricating light emitting devices having current blocking structures
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