LED Lamp

• US 7,235,817 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2004
• Issued: 06/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sovereign Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yano, Tadashi, Shimizu, Masanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Pert, Evan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mandala, Jr., Victor A.
• Application Number:
  US10/543,243
• Publication Number:
  US 20060131594A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,057 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 257/98
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/0554 External layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/0555 Shape
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/0556 Disposition
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05568 the whole external layer protruding from the surface
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05573 Single external layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05599 Material
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16225 the item being non-metallic, e.g. insulating substrate with or without metallisation
• 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 25/0753 the devices being arranged next to each other
• 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 33/508 having a non-uniform spatial arrangement or non-uniform concentration, e.g. patterned wavelength conversion layer, wavelength conversion layer with a concentration gradient of the wavelength conversion material
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/54 having a particular shape

Abstract

According to the present invention, a substrate 11, a cluster of LED chips, which are arranged two-dimensionally on the substrate 11, and a plurality of phosphor resin portions 13a, 13b that cover the respective LED chips are provided. The phosphor resin portion 13a, 13b includes a phosphor for transforming the emission of its associated LED chip into a light ray having a longer wavelength than that of the emission. A size of the phosphor resin portions 13b, which cover the LED chips located in an outer region of the cluster, is set bigger than that of the other phosphor resin portions 13a, which cover the LED chips located in the remaining non-outer region.

Claims

1. An LED lamp comprising:

a substrate;

a cluster of LED chips, which are arranged two-dimensionally on the substrate; and

a plurality of phosphor resin portions that cover the respective LED chips,

wherein each said phosphor resin portion includes a phosphor for transforming the emission of its associated LED chip into a light ray having a longer wavelength than that of the emission, and

wherein a size of the phosphor resin portions, which cover the LED chips located in an outer region of the cluster, is set bigger than that of the other phosphor resin portions, which cover the LED chips located in the remaining non-outer region.

2. The LED lamp of claim 1, wherein if a reference position is defined with respect to the cluster of LED chips, the size of the phosphor resin portions, covering the LED chips that are located most distant from the reference position, is set bigger than that of the phosphor resin portion covering the LED chip at the reference position.

3. The LED lamp of claim 1, wherein each said phosphor resin portion has a substantially cylindrical shape with an almost circular cross section when viewed perpendicularly to the substrate, and

wherein the diameter of the phosphor resin portions, covering the LED chips located in the outer region, is greater than that of the phosphor resin portions covering the LED chips located in the remaining non-outer region.

4. The LED lamp of claim 1, wherein at least one of the LED chips emits a light ray, of which the peak wavelength falls within the visible radiation range of 380 nm to 780 nm, and

wherein the phosphor included in the phosphor resin portion that covers the at least one LED chip produces a light ray, of which the peak wavelength also falls within the visible radiation range of 380 nm to 780 nm but is different from the peak wavelength of the LED chip.

5. The LED lamp of claim 3, wherein the at least one LED chip of the cluster is a blue LED chip that emits a blue light ray, and

wherein the phosphor included in the phosphor resin portion covering the blue LED chip is a yellow phosphor that transforms the blue light ray into a yellow light ray.

6. The LED lamp of claim 2, wherein the outer region is a region defined by outermost ones of the LED chips that are arranged two-dimensionally.

7. The LED lamp of claim 2, wherein the phosphor resin portions located in the outer region have substantially equal sizes, and

wherein the phosphor resin portions located inside of the outer region also have substantially equal sizes.

8. The LED lamp of claim 1, wherein each of the LED chips is a bare chip LED, and

wherein the bare chip LED is flip-chip bonded to the substrate.

9. The LED lamp of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a plurality of openings to store the phosphor resin portions that cover the respective LED chips, and

wherein each inner side surface of the substrate, defining its associated opening, functions as a reflective surface for reflecting the emission of its associated LED chip.

10. The LED lamp of claim 9, further comprising a lens that covers each said phosphor resin portion.

11. A method for fabricating an LED lamp, the method comprising the steps of:

arranging a cluster of LED chips on a substrate; and

providing a plurality of phosphor resin portions such that the LED chips are covered with the phosphor resin portions, each said phosphor resin portion including a phosphor that transforms the emission of its associated LED chip into a light ray having a longer wavelength than the emission,

wherein the step of providing the phosphor resin portions includes the step of setting, if a reference position is defined with respect to the cluster of LED chips, the size of the phosphor resin portions, covering the LED chips that are located most distant from the reference position, bigger than that of the phosphor resin portion covering the LED chip at the reference position.