Patent ID: 8703515

Claim:
A method for guiding current in a light emitting diode (LED) device comprising: providing an n-electrode; providing an LED stack comprising an n-type semiconductor layer in electrical contact with the n-electrode, an active layer configured to emit light, and a p-type semiconductor layer on the active layer; providing a p-electrode in electrical contact with the active layer configured as an electrically conductive current guiding structure for guiding current through the active layer, the p-electrode comprising a high contact resistance area aligned with the n-electrode configured to provide a first current path to a first area of the active layer and a low contact resistance area configured to provide a second current path to at least one second area of the active layer, with the first current path providing less electrical current than the second current path and with an electrical resistance of the high contact resistance area at least double an electrical resistance of the low contact resistance area; and guiding current through the LED stack using the p-electrode.