Light-radiating semiconductor component with a luminescence conversion element

• US 7,151,283 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2004
• Issued: 12/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: OSRAM Licht AG (Ams-Osram AG)
• Original Assignee: OSRAM GmbH (Ams-Osram AG)
• Inventors: Schneider, Jürgen, Schlotter, Peter, Schmidt, Ralf, Waitl, Günter, Höhn, Klaus, Reeh, Ulrike, Stath, Norbert
• Primary Examiner(s): JACKSON JR, JEROME
• Application Number:
  US10/979,778
• Publication Number:
  US 20050127385A1
• Time in Patent Office: 777 Days
• Field of Search: 257/98
• US Class Current: 257/98
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 11/7718 with alkaline earth metals
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 11/7746 with alkaline earth metals
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 11/7767 Chalcogenides
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 11/7769 Oxides C09K11/7768 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C09K 11/7774 Aluminates
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/32245 the item being metallic
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/32257 the layer connector connecting to a bonding area disposed in a recess of the surface of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48247 connecting the wire to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48257 connecting the wire to a die pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48465 the other connecting portion not on the bonding area being a wedge bond, i.e. ball-to-wedge, regular stitch
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48472 the other connecting portion not on the bonding area also being a wedge bond, i.e. wedge-to-wedge
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/49107 on the semiconductor or solid-state body
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/73265 Layer and wire connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/8592 Applying permanent coating, e.g. protective coating
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00012 Relevant to the scope of the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01021 Scandium [Sc]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01079 Gold [Au]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12041 : LED
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12044 : OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/181 : Encapsulation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2933/0091 : Scattering means in or on the semiconductor body or semiconductor body package H01L33/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/486 : adapted for surface mounting
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/50 : Wavelength conversion elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/501 : characterised by the materials, e.g. binder
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/502 : Wavelength conversion materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/56 : Materials, e.g. epoxy or silicone resin
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/00 : Energy efficient lighting technologies, e.g. halogen lamps or gas discharge lamps

Abstract

The light-radiating semiconductor component has a radiation-emitting semiconductor body and a luminescence conversion element. The semiconductor body emits radiation in the ultraviolet, blue and/or green spectral region and the luminescence conversion element converts a portion of the radiation into radiation of a longer wavelength. This makes it possible to produce light-emitting diodes which radiate polychromatic light, in particular white light, with only a single light-emitting semiconductor body. A particularly preferred luminescence conversion dye is YAG:Ce.

Claims

1. A polychromatic light emitting semiconductor chip for mounting into a housing for a light-emitting diode, comprising:

a semiconductor body comprising a layer sequence suitable for emitting electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength range selected from a spectral region consisting of ultraviolet, blue, and green;

a luminescence conversion layer applied directly to said semiconductor body with at least one luminescent material, said luminescence conversion material being suitable for converting a radiation originating from the first wavelength range into radiation of a second wavelength range which is at least partially different from the first wavelength range, such that the semiconductor chip is capable of emitting polychromatic radiation comprising perceptible amounts of radiation of the first wavelength range and perceptible amounts of radiation of the second wavelength range.

2. The chip according to claim 1, wherein

said luminescence conversion layer being produced from a silicone and containing inorganic luminescence material selected from the group consisting of gamets doped with rare earths, alkaline earth metal sulfides doped with rare earths, thiogallates doped with rare earths, aluminates doped with rare earths, and orthosilicates doped with rare earths.

3. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer converts radiation of the first wavelength range into radiation of a plurality of second wavelength ranges from mutually different spectral subregions, such that the semiconductor component emits polychromatic radiation comprising radiation of the first wavelength range and radiation of the plurality of second wavelength ranges.

4. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said second wavelength range includes wavelengths at least some of which are longer than wavelengths of the first wavelength range.

5. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor body is adapted to emit ultraviolet radiation during operation of the semiconductor layer sequence, and said luminescence conversion element converts at least a portion of the ultraviolet radiation into visible light.

6. The chip according to claim 1, wherein the first wavelength range and the second wavelength range of the polychromatic radiation lie at least partially in mutually complementary-color spectral regions, and a combination of radiation from the first and second wavelength range results in white light.

7. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer converts radiation of the first wavelength range into radiation of a plurality of second wavelength ranges from mutually different spectral subregions, such that the semiconductor body emits polychromatic radiation comprising radiation of the first wavelength range and radiation of the plurality of second wavelength ranges, wherein the first wavelength range emitted by said semiconductor body and two second wavelength ranges produce an additive color triad, such that white light is radiated by the semiconductor chip during operation thereof.

8. The chip according to claim 1, wherein the radiation emitted by said semiconductor body has a luminescence intensity maximum in a blue spectral region at a wavelength between 420 nm and 460 nm.

9. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer includes organic dye molecules in a plastic matrix.

10. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer includes organic dye molecules in a plastic matrix, and wherein said plastic matrix is formed from a plastic material selected from the group consisting of silicone, thermoplastic material, and thermosetting plastic material.

11. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer has at least one inorganic luminescence material selected from the phosphor group.

12. The chip according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic luminescent material is selected from the group of Ce-doped gamets.

13. The chip according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic luminescent material is YAG:

Ce.

14. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer has at least one inorganic luminescence material selected from the phosphor group, and wherein the inorganic luminescent material is embedded in an epoxy resin matrix.

15. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer has at least one inorganic luminescence material selected from the phosphor group, and wherein the inorganic luminescent material is embedded in a matrix formed of inorganic glass with a relatively low melting point.

16. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer has at least one inorganic luminescence material selected from the phosphor group, and wherein the inorganic luminescent material is embedded in an epoxy resin matrix, and wherein the inorganic luminescent material has a mean particle size of approximately 10 microns.

17. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer is provided with a plurality of mutually different materials selected from the group consisting of organic and inorganic luminescent materials.

18. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer includes dye molecules selected from the group consisting of organic and inorganic dye molecules partly with and partly without a wavelength conversion effect.

19. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer includes light-diffusing particles.

20. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer comprises at least one luminescent 4f-organometallic compound.

21. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer includes a luminescent material that is luminescent in a blue region.

22. The chip according to claim 1, wherein the radiation emitted by said semiconductor body has a luminescence intensity maximum at a wavelength of or below 520 nm.

23. The chip according to claim 1, wherein said luminescence conversion layer comprises a plurality of layers with mutually different wavelength conversion properties.

24. The chip according to claim 1, wherein the polychromatic radiation emitted from the chip comprises at least one local peak in intensity corresponding to the emission from the layer sequence in the semiconductor body.

25. The chip according to claim 24, wherein the local peak in intensity is in a blue spectral region.

26. The chip according to claim 25, wherein the local peak in intensity is at a wavelength between 420 nm and 460 nm.

27. The chip according to claim 25, wherein the local peak in intensity is at a wavelength of approximately 430 nm.

28. The chip according to claim 25, wherein the local peak in intensity is at a wavelength of approximately 470 nm.

29. The chip according to claim 1, wherein at least about 20% of the polychromatic radiation emitted from the chip comprises radiation in the first wavelength range produced by the layer sequence.

30. The chip according to claim 1, wherein at least about 30% of the polychromatic radiation emitted from the chip comprises radiation in the first wavelength range produced by the layer sequence.

31. The chip according to claim 1, wherein at least about 50% of the polychromatic radiation emitted from the chip comprises radiation in the first wavelength range produced by the layer sequence.

32. The chip according to claim 1, wherein the luminescence conversion material in the luminescence conversion layer excludes materials whose emission is peaked in a blue spectral region.

33. The chip according to claim 1, wherein the second wavelength range consists of radiation having one or more local emission peaks in the green, yellow, and red spectral regions, but not the blue spectral region.

34. A polychromatic light emitting semiconductor chip for mounting into a housing for a light-emitting diode, comprising:

a semiconductor body comprising a layer sequence suitable for emitting electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength range selected from a spectral region consisting of ultraviolet, blue, and green;

a luminescence conversion layer applied directly to said semiconductor body with at least one luminescent material, said luminescence conversion material being suitable for converting a radiation originating from the first wavelength range into radiation of a second wavelength range which is at least partially different from the first wavelength range, such that the semiconductor chip is capable of emitting polychromatic radiation comprising radiation of the first wavelength range and radiation of the second wavelength range,

said luminescence conversion layer being produced from a silicone and containing inorganic luminescence material.

35. The chip according to claim 34, wherein the inorganic luminescence material is selected from the group consisting of gamets doped with rare earths, alkaline earth metal sulfides doped with rare earths, thiogallates doped with rare earths, aluminates doped with rare earths, and orthosilicates doped with rare earths.

36. A polychromatic light emitting semiconductor chip for mounting into a housing for a light-emitting diode, comprising:

a semiconductor body comprising a layer sequence suitable for emitting electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength range selected from a spectral region consisting of ultraviolet, blue, and green;

a luminescence conversion layer applied directly to said semiconductor body with at least one luminescent material, said luminescence conversion material being suitable for converting a radiation originating from the first wavelength range into radiation of a second wavelength range which is at least partially different from the first wavelength range, such that the semiconductor chip is capable of emitting polychromatic radiation comprising radiation of the first wavelength range and radiation of the second wavelength range,

wherein said luminescence conversion layer comprises a plurality of layers with mutually different wavelength conversion properties.