LED with substrate modifications for enhanced light extraction and method of making same
First Claim
1. A method of fabricating a light emitting diode (LED) including a substrate having a light emitting surface, said method comprising:
- applying a reactive ion etch (RIE) process to at least a portion of the light emitting surface for a time duration sufficient to change the morphology of the surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The surface morphology of an LED light emitting surface is changed by applying a reactive ion etch (RIE) process to the light emitting surface. Etched features, such as truncated pyramids, may be formed on the emitting surface, prior to the RIE process, by cutting into the surface using a saw blade or a masked etching technique. Sidewall cuts may also be made in the emitting surface prior to the RIE process. A light absorbing damaged layer of material associated with saw cutting is removed by the RIE process. The surface morphology created by the RIE process may be emulated using different, various combinations of non-RIE processes such as grit sanding and deposition of a roughened layer of material or particles followed by dry etching.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating a light emitting diode (LED) including a substrate having a light emitting surface, said method comprising:
applying a reactive ion etch (RIE) process to at least a portion of the light emitting surface for a time duration sufficient to change the morphology of the surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of fabricating an LED including a substrate having a light emitting surface having at least one cut surface with a light absorbing damaged layer of material, said method comprising:
applying a reactive ion etch (RIE) process to the cut surface for a time duration sufficient to remove at least a portion of the damaged layer of material. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A light emitting diode (LED) formed by a process comprising:
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growing a light emission region on a first-side surface of a substrate, the light emission region comprising a p-type layer of material, an n-type layer of material and an active layer between the p-type layer and the n-type layer; and
applying a reactive ion etch (RIE) process to at least a portion of the second-side surface of the substrate opposite the first-side surface for a time duration sufficient to change the morphology of the surface. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A light emitting diode (LED) formed by a process comprising:
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growing a light emission region on a first-side surface of a substrate, the light emission region comprising a p-type layer of material, an n-type layer of material and an active layer between the p-type layer and the n-type layer;
creating cuts in a second-side surface of the substrate opposite the first-side surface to form at least one cut surface having a light absorbing damaged layer of material; and
applying a reactive ion etch (RIE) process to at least a portion of the cut surface for a time duration sufficient to remove at least a portion of the damaged layer of material. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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28. A light emitting diode (LED) comprising:
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a substrate having a light emitting surface having an RIE etched surface with a dimpled texture; and
a light emission region on a surface of the substrate, the light emission region including an active layer between first and second oppositely doped layers. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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Specification