Polarized semiconductor light emitting device with light guiding portions formed within

• US 7,964,877 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2007
• Issued: 06/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: Kim, Dae Yeon, Lee, Su Yeol, Yoon, Sang Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu; Hung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Webb; Vernon P
• Application Number:
  US11/822,186
• Publication Number:
  US 20080012028A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,449 Days
• Field of Search: 257/98, 257/E33.005, 257/E33.068, 257/79
• US Class Current: 257/79
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13362 providing polarized light, e.g. by converting a polarisation component into another one
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/08 with a plurality of light emitting regions, e.g. laterally discontinuous light emitting layer or photoluminescent region integrated within the semiconductor body H01L27/15 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/10 with a light reflecting structure, e.g. semiconductor Bragg reflector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/20 with a particular shape, e.g. curved or truncated substrate

Abstract

A polarized semiconductor light emitting device includes a semiconductor structure having a first conductivity semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second conductivity semiconductor layer sequentially stacked. Also, the semiconductor structure further includes a plurality of light guide parts defined by a plurality of grooves arranged along a predetermined direction. The grooves extend from the second conductivity semiconductor layer with a depth reaching at least the active layer, and the light guide parts have a length greater than a width thereof to selectively emit a polarized component in a length direction thereof.

Claims

1. A semiconductor light emitting device comprising a semiconductor structure including a first conductivity semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second conductivity semiconductor layer sequentially stacked,

wherein the semiconductor structure further includes a plurality of grooves extending from the second conductivity semiconductor layer with a depth reaching to at least an inner part of the active layer in order to divide the active layer, and a plurality of light guide parts being separated from each other by each of the plurality of grooves and alternating with the grooves thereof, the light guide parts having a length greater than a width thereof to selectively emit a polarized component in a length direction thereof,

the grooves are arranged along one direction of the width of the light guide parts,

the semiconductor structure comprises a first and a second reflective layers, between which the active layer is interposed, and

the light guide parts and the plurality of grooves are disposed between the first and second reflective layers.

2. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the light guide parts have the length that is at least three times the width thereof.

3. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the light guide parts are formed periodically.

4. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are filled with a material having a refractivity lower than that of the semiconductor structure.

5. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising an insulating substrate having the first conductivity semiconductor layer, the active layer and the second conductivity semiconductor layer sequentially stacked thereon,

wherein the semiconductor structure is mesa-etched to expose a portion of the first conductivity semiconductor layer, and further includes a first electrode formed on an exposed portion of the first conductivity semiconductor layer and a second electrode formed on a portion of the second conductivity semiconductor layer.

6. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 5, wherein each of the grooves is extended toward the first electrode from a position adjacent to the second electrode.

7. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a conductive substrate having the second semiconductor layer, the active layer and the first conductivity semiconductor layer sequentially stacked thereon;

a first electrode formed on a portion of the first conductivity substrate; and

a second electrode formed underneath the conductive substrate.

8. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 7, wherein the grooves are extended from an edge of the semiconductor structure to an opposing edge thereof.

9. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second reflective layers formed at an interval corresponding to natural number times a half wavelength of light generated from the active layer,

wherein the second reflective layer is disposed in a light exiting direction and the second reflective layer has a lower refractivity for a wavelength of light generated from the active layer than that generated from the first reflective layer.

10. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 9, wherein the first reflective layer has at least 80% reflectivity for the wavelength of light generated from the active layer, and the second reflective layer has 20% to 60% reflectivity for the wavelength of light generated from the active layer.

11. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 9, further comprising an insulating substrate having the first conductivity semiconductor layer, the active layer and the second conductivity semiconductor layer sequentially stacked thereon,

wherein the second reflective layer is disposed on the second conductivity semiconductor layer, and the first reflective layer is disposed inside the first conductivity semiconductor layer.

12. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 9, further comprising a conductive substrate having the second conductivity semiconductor layer, the active layer and the first conductivity semiconductor layer sequentially stacked thereon,

wherein the first reflective layer is disposed inside the first conductivity semiconductor layer, and the second reflective layer comprises the conductive substrate or a metal reflective layer interposed between the conductive substrate and the first conductivity semiconductor layer.

13. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 11, wherein the first reflective layer comprises a Distributed-Bragg Reflector (DBR) structure in which semiconductor layers of different refractivity are stacked alternately at least once.

14. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 10, wherein the first reflective layer comprises a Distributed-Bragg Reflector (DBR) structure in which semiconductor layers of different refractivity are stacked alternately at least once.

15. A semiconductor light emitting device comprising a semiconductor structure including a first conductivity semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second conductivity semiconductor layer sequentially stacked,

wherein the semiconductor structure further includes:

a plurality of grooves, the grooves extending from the second conductivity semiconductor layer with a depth reaching to at least an inner part of the active layer in order to divide the active layer, and

a plurality of light guide parts being separated from each other by each of the plurality of grooves and alternating with the grooves thereof, and

wherein the grooves are arranged along one direction of the width of the light guide parts,

the semiconductor structure comprises a first and a second reflective layers, between which the active layer is interposed, and

the light guide parts and the plurality of grooves are disposed between the first and second reflective layers.

16. A semiconductor light emitting device comprising a semiconductor structure including a first conductivity semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second conductivity semiconductor layer stacked sequentially,

wherein the semiconductor structure further includes a plurality of grooves extending from the second conductivity semiconductor layer with a depth reaching to at least an inner part of the active layer in order to divide the active layer, and a plurality of light guide parts separated from each other by each of the respective grooves of the plurality of grooves and alternating with the grooves thereof,

the light guide parts having a length greater than a width thereof to selectively emit a polarized component in a length direction thereof,

the grooves are arranged along one direction of the width of the light guide parts, and

a period p of the light guide parts satisfy the following equation,