Semiconductor light-emitting device and video display adopting it

• US 20050219464A1
• Filed: 02/15/2005
• Published: 10/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yatsu, Masahiko, Yamasaki, Futoshi
• Application Number:
  US11/058,860
• Publication Number:
  US 20050219464A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 353/20
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/2073 Polarisers in the lamp house peculiar to electronic spatial light modulators H04N9/3197
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/315 Modulator illumination systems general applications of lighting devices F21V; general optical systems G02B; lamp houses for projectors not peculiar to the presence of an electronic spatial light modulator G03B21/20

Abstract

An LED technology is adapted to a video display in order to ensure high image quality. A semiconductor light-emitting device having a flip-chip structure is adopted as a light source. Polarized light of white light or of each of red, green, and blue light waves, of which one polarized light component is converted to become consistent with the other component, is radiated from the light source. In the semiconductor light-emitting device, a light transmissive substrate or a quarter-wave phase difference plate that turns the direction of polarization, and a reflective sheet polarizer that reflects one of P-polarized light and S-polarized light and transmits the other polarized light are disposed on the light-emitting side of an LED chip light emitter formed on a reflecting electrode. The direction of polarization of polarized light reflected from the reflective sheet polarizer or reflecting electrode is turned by the substrate or quarter-wave phase difference plate so that it will be aligned with the direction of polarization of the other polarized light. The resultant polarized light is transmitted by the reflective sheet polarizer and then radiated from the semiconductor light-emitting device.

Claims

1. A video display comprising:

an optical unit comprising at least a plurality of first light emitting devices and a light modulator, the first light emitting devices disposed along an optical path of the light modulator, the light modulator operative to modulate light incident thereon to produce modulated light in accordance with a video signal; and

a screen arranged along an optical path of the light modulator to receive the modulated light,

each first light emitting device comprising;

a light emitting layer having a first surface through which light produced therein is transmitted;

a second surface disposed opposite the first surface, the second surface being a reflective surface so that light incident on the second surface is reflected and transmitted through the first surface, the light emitting layer producing light having a first polarization and light having a second polarization, the light being either white light, red light, green light, or blue light;

a light transmissive substrate disposed on the first surface, the light transmissive substrate characterized by rotating the polarization direction of light having the second polarization to the first polarization; and

a reflective substrate disposed on the light transmissive substrate and being transmissive of light having the first polarization and reflective of light having the second polarization, so that light produced by the light emitting layer having the second polarization is reflected toward the second surface through the light transmissive substrate, wherein the light is reflected back toward the reflective substrate by the second surface, whereby light having the first polarization is converted to the second polarization so that the light which is transmitted through the reflective substrate is substantially of the second polarization.

2. The video display of claim 1 wherein the first and second polarizations respectively is either P-polarization and S-polarization, or S-polarization and P-polarization

3. The video display of claim 1 wherein the light transmissive substrate is a sapphire substrate.

4. The video display of claim 1 wherein the light transmissive substrate comprises a quarter-wave plate disposed on a translucent substrate.

5. The video display of claim 1 wherein the first light emitting devices produce white light, the video display further comprising color separators aligned along the optical path of the first light emitting devices, the color separators configured to produce a red light component, a green light component, and a blue light component, and further configured to direct the red, green, and blue light components to the light modulator, wherein the light modulator is operative to modulate each of the red, green, and blue light components individually according to color information in the video signal.

6. The video display of claim 1 wherein the optical unit further comprises a plurality of second light emitting devices and plurality of third light emitting devices, the first light emitting devices producing red light, the second light emitting devices producing green light, the third light emitting devices producing blue light, wherein the light modulator comprises:

a first light modulating element arranged along an optical path of the first light emitting devices to produce modulated red light;

a second light modulating element arranged along an optical path of the second light emitting devices to produce modulated green light;

a third light modulating element arranged along an optical path of the third light emitting devices to produce modulated blue light; and

a light combiner aligned to receive the modulated red light, the modulated green light, and the modulated blue light.

7. The video display of claim 6 further comprising a projection lens disposed between the screen and the light modulator along the optical path of the light modulator, the modulated red, green, and blue light that is received by the light combiner thereby being directed to the projection lens and in turn to the screen.

8. The video display of claim 1 wherein the optical unit further comprises a plurality of second light emitting devices, a plurality of third light emitting devices, and a light combining element, the first light emitting devices producing red light, the second light emitting devices producing green light, the third light emitting devices producing blue light, the light combining element arranged to direct the red light, the green light, and the blue light along the optical path of the light modulator.

9. The video display of claim 8 wherein the first, second, and third light emitting devices are operated in sequential order, so that the red, green, and blue light, respectively, are incident upon the light modulator in sequential order.

10. A video display device comprising:

a light source;

a light modulator to modulate light produced by the light source;

a screen to which modulated light produced by the light modulator is directed,

the light source comprising a plurality of light emitting devices, each light emitting device comprising;

a first layer having an emitting surface and a second layer having a reflecting surface, wherein light produced in the first layer emanates from the emitting surface, wherein light reflected by the reflecting surface emanates from the emitting surface; and

a transmissive substrate having the property of rotating the polarization direction of light having a first polarization, the transmissive substrate arranged with respect to the light emitting device so that light having a second polarization that is incident upon the transmissive substrate propagates therethrough.

11. The video display of claim 10 wherein the first polarization is P-polarization and the second polarization is S-polarization, wherein light that emanates from the transmissive substrate is substantially S-polarized light.

12. The video display of claim 10 wherein the first polarization is S-polarization and the second polarization is P-polarization, wherein light that emanates from the transmissive substrate is substantially P-polarized light.

13. The video display of claim 10 further comprising a reflective substrate having the property of reflecting light having the first polarization and being transmissive of light having a second polarization, the reflective substrate arranged in a manner to receive light that propagates through the transmissive substrate and to reflect light having the first polarization toward the reflective surface of the LED, wherein light produced by the LED having the first polarization reflects between the reflective substrate and the reflective surface of the LED at least once, and emanates from the reflective substrate as light having the second polarization.

14. The video display of claim 13 wherein the transmissive substrate is a sapphire substrate.

15. The video display of claim 13 wherein the transmissive substrate is a quarter-wave plate.

16. The video display of claim 15 wherein each LED further comprises a sapphire substrate, the quarter-wave plate being disposed on the sapphire substrate.

17. The video display of claim 13 wherein the light source produces white light, wherein the light modulator includes one or more beam splitters to produce a red light component, a green light component, and a blue light component from the white light, and light modulating components to modulate each of the red, green, and blue light components.

18. A light emitting device comprising:

a light emitting component and a reflective electrode to which the light emitting component is in electrical contact, wherein light incident on the reflective electrode is reflected, the light emitting component operative to produce light having a first polarization and light having a second polarization;

a light transmissive substrate disposed relative to the reflective electrode such that the light emitting component is disposed therebetween, the light transmissive substrate characterized by rotating the polarization direction of light having the first polarization to the first polarization; and

a reflective substrate being transmissive of light having the first polarization and reflective of light having the second polarization, the reflective substrate disposed relative to the light transmissive substrate so as to reflect a first light having the second polarization toward the reflective electrode through the light transmissive substrate and through the light emitting component,

wherein the first light is reflected back toward the reflective substrate by the reflective electrode.

19. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 18 wherein the first and second polarizations each is either P-polarization and S-polarization respectively, or S-polarization and P-polarization respectively.

20. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 18 wherein the light transmissive substrate is a sapphire substrate.

21. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 18 wherein the light transmissive substrate comprises a quarter-wave plate.

22. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 21 wherein the light transmissive substrate further comprises a sapphire substrate, the quarter-wave plate being disposed on the sapphire substrate.

23. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 18 wherein the light produced by the light emitting component is one of white light, red light, green light, or blue light.