Light emitting diode having light emitting cell with different size and light emitting device thereof

• US 8,274,089 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2009
• Issued: 09/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd. (Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Seoul Optodevice Company Limited (Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Lee, Jun Hee, Kim, Jong Kyu, Yoon, Yeo Jin
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, HOANG QUAN TRAN
• Application Number:
  US12/626,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20100072494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,035 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 257/88
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48137 the bodies being arranged next to each other, e.g. on a common substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/73265 Layer and wire connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/15 including semiconductor components having potential barriers, specially adapted for light emission
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/156 two-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12041 LED
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/62 Arrangements for conducting electric current to or from the semiconductor body, e.g. lead-frames, wire-bonds or solder balls

Abstract

There is provided a light emitting diode operating under AC power comprising a substrate; a buffer layer formed on the substrate; and a plurality of light emitting cells formed on the buffer layer to have different sizes and to be electrically isolated from one another, the plurality of light emitting cells being connected in series through metal wires.

According to the present invention, light emitting cells formed in an LED have different sizes, and thus have different turn-on voltages when light is emitted under AC power, so that times when the respective light emitting cells start emitting light are different to thereby effectively reduce a flicker phenomenon.

Claims

1. A light emitting device, comprising:

a plurality of light emitting cells arranged on a substrate; and

a first serial array comprising at least two electrically connected light emitting cells of the plurality of light emitting cells,

wherein the at least two light emitting cells comprise semiconductor layers made of the same material, the at least two light emitting cells configured to emit light having substantially the same wavelength,

wherein the at least two light emitting cells have different sizes, and

wherein turn-on voltages and light emitting initiation timings of the at least two light emitting cells are different according to the different sizes.

2. The light emitting device of claim 1, further comprising a second serial array comprising at least another two electrically connected light emitting cells of the plurality of light emitting cells,

wherein the at least another two light emitting cells have different sizes.

3. The light emitting device of claim 2, wherein the first serial array and the second serial array are connected to each other in parallel.

4. The light emitting device of claim 3, wherein the light emitting device is to emit light during both a forward bias cycle and a reverse bias cycle of an alternating current (AC) power source.

5. The light emitting device of claim 2, wherein the first serial array and the second serial array comprise an equal number of same sized light emitting cells.

6. The light emitting device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of light emitting cells are arranged in a substantially rectangular shape on the substrate.

7. The light emitting device of claim 6, wherein the plurality of light emitting cells are arranged such that a smaller sized light emitting cell is disposed adjacent to a larger sized light emitting cell.

8. The light emitting device of claim 7, wherein one larger sized light emitting cell is disposed directly between two smaller sized light emitting cells in the first serial array.

9. The light emitting device of claim 6, wherein one smaller sized light emitting cell is disposed directly between two larger sized light emitting cells in the first serial array.

10. The light emitting device of claim 6, wherein the plurality of light emitting cells are arranged such that a larger sized light emitting cell is disposed adjacent to smaller sized light emitting cells.

11. The light emitting device of claim 1, further comprising:

a second serial array comprising at least two electrically connected light emitting cells of the plurality of light emitting cells,

wherein the second serial array is connected to the first serial array in parallel, and

wherein at least one light emitting cell of the first serial array comprises a different size from at least one light emitting cell of the second serial array.

12. The light emitting device of claim 11, wherein the at least one light emitting cell of the first serial array and the at least one light emitting cell of the second serial array are arranged adjacent to each other.

13. The light emitting device of claim 12, wherein the at least one light emitting cell of the first serial array comprises the same size as a light emitting cell adjacent to the at least one light emitting cell of the second serial array.

14. The light emitting device of claim 11, wherein the first serial array is connected in inverse parallel to the second serial array.

18. The light emitting device of claim 1, wherein the at least two light emitting cells comprise the same layer arrangement.

15. A light emitting device, comprising:

a plurality of light emitting cells arranged on a substrate; and

a first serial array comprising at least two electrically connected light emitting cells of the plurality of light emitting cells,

wherein the at least two light emitting cells comprise a first type semiconductor layer arranged on the substrate, a second type semiconductor layer arranged between the first type semiconductor layer and the substrate, and an active layer interposed between the first type semiconductor layer and the second type semiconductor layer,

wherein the at least two light emitting cells comprise the first type semiconductor layer made of the same material, the second type semiconductor layer made of the same material, and the active layer made of the same material, the at least two light emitting cells configured to emit light having substantially the same wavelength,

wherein the at least two light emitting cells comprise different sizes, and

wherein turn-on voltages and light emitting initiation timings of the at least two light emitting cells are different according to the different sizes.

16. The light emitting device of claim 15, wherein the at least two light emitting cells comprise the same width and comprise different lengths.

17. The light emitting device of claim 15, wherein the first type semiconductor layer and the second type semiconductor layer comprise at least one of:

In_xGa_1-xN, where (0≦

x≦

1);

Al_xGa_1-xN, where(0≦

x≦

1); and

Al_xIn_yGa_(1-x-y)N, where (0≦

x, y, x+y≦

1).

19. A light emitting device, comprising:

a plurality of light emitting cells arranged on a substrate; and

a first serial array comprising at least two electrically connected light emitting cells of the plurality of light emitting cells,

wherein the at least two light emitting cells comprise semiconductor layers made of the same material, the at least two light emitting cells configured to emit light having substantially the same wavelength,

wherein the at least two light emitting cells have different sizes.