Light emitting diode and method for fabricating the same

• US 8,536,604 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2011
• Issued: 09/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kwak, Joon-seop, Cho, Jae-hee
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CUONG QUANG
• Application Number:
  US13/188,297
• Publication Number:
  US 20110272706A1
• Time in Patent Office: 789 Days
• Field of Search: 257/E33.023, 257/E33.061, 257 76-103, 257432-447
• US Class Current: 257/98
• 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 2224/8592 Applying permanent coating, e.g. protective coating
• 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 2924/181 Encapsulation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2933/0041 relating to wavelength conversion elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/007 comprising nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0095 Post-treatment of devices, e.g. annealing, recrystallisation or short-circuit elimination
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/20 with a particular shape, e.g. curved or truncated substrate
• 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

Abstract

A light emitting diode and a method for fabricating the same are provided. The light emitting diode includes: a transparent substrate; a semiconductor material layer formed on the top surface of a substrate with an active layer generating light; and a fluorescent layer formed on the back surface of the substrate with controlled varied thicknesses. The ratio of light whose wavelength is shifted while propagating through the fluorescent layer and the original light generated in the active layer can be controlled by adjusting the thickness of the fluorescent layer, to emit desirable homogeneous white light from the light emitting diode.

Claims

1. A light emitting device comprising:

a light emitting structure having a first compound semiconductor layer, a second compound semiconductor layer and an active layer disposed between the first and second compound semiconductor layers and generating light, a portion of the first semiconductor layer being exposed;

a first electrode disposed on the exposed portion of the first semiconductor layer and a second electrode disposed on a top surface of the second semiconductor layer, respectively; and

a wavelength converting layer having first and second fluorescent layers sequentially formed on a first surface of the light emitting structure opposed to a second surface thereof on which the first and second electrodes formed, the first and second fluorescent layer converting a portion of the generated light to converted light having a different wavelength from the first light,

wherein the first fluorescent layer has a different thicknesses from the second fluorescent layer,

wherein each of the first and second fluorescent layers has a uniform thickness.

2. The light emitting device of claim 1, wherein the first and second fluorescent layers contain an inorganic fluorescent material.

3. The light emitting device of claim 1, wherein the wavelength converting layer contains a first inorganic fluorescent material and a second inorganic fluorescent material being different from the first inorganic fluorescent material.

4. The light emitting device of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a sapphire substrate.

5. The light emitting device of claim 4, wherein the first compound semiconductor layer is an n-type doped or undoped GaN-based III-V nitride compound semiconductor layer.

6. The light emitting device of claim 4, wherein the second compound semiconductor layer is a p-type doped GaN-based III-V nitride compound semiconductor layer.

7. The light emitting device of claim 4, wherein the active layer is an n-type doped or undoped In_xAl_yGa_1-x-yN compound semiconductor layer where 0<

x<

1, 0<

y<

1, and x+y<

1.

8. The light emitting device of claim 1, wherein a first light is blue light of a wavelength of 420˜

470 nm, and the second light includes yellow light.

9. The light emitting device of claim 8, wherein the first or second fluorescent layer is made of an inorganic fluorescent material including a garnet fluorescent material activated with cerium containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of yttrium, lutetium, scandium, lanthanum, gadolinium, and samarium, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of aluminum, gallium, and indium.

10. The light emitting device of claim 8, wherein the second light further includes red or green light,

wherein one of the first and second fluorescent layers converts blue light to yellow light and the other of the first and second fluorescent layers converts blue light to red or green light.

11. The light emitting device of claim 10, wherein the red light has a peak wavelength of 610˜

625 nm and the green light has a peak wavelength of 530˜

555 nm.

12. The light emitting device of claim 8, wherein one of the first and second fluorescent layers is made of an inorganic fluorescent material including a garnet fluorescent material activated with cerium containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of yttrium, lutetium, scandium, lanthanum, gadolinium, and samarium, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of aluminum, gallium, and indium.

13. The light emitting device of claim 12, wherein the other of the first and second fluorescent layers is made of at least one of red and green fluorescent materials, the red fluorescent material includes at least one fluorescent material of Y₂O₂S:

Eu³⁺,Bi³⁺, YVO₄;

Eu³⁺,Bi³⁺, SrS;

Eu²⁺, SrY₂S₄;

Eu²⁺, CaLa₂S₄;

Ce³⁺, (Ca, Sr)S;

Eu² and the green fluorescent material includes at least one fluorescent material of YBO₃;

Ce³⁺, Tb³⁺, BaMgAl₁₀O₁₇;

Eu²⁺,Mn²⁺, (Sr, Ba, Ca)(Al, Ga)₂S₄;

Eu²⁺.

14. The light emitting device of claim 1, wherein the first light is blue light having a wavelength of 420˜

470 nm, and the second light includes red and green light.

15. The light emitting device of claim 12, wherein one of the first and second fluorescent layers converts blue light to red light and the other of the first and second fluorescent layers converts blue light to green light.

16. The light emitting device of claim 1, wherein the first light is UV light, and the second light includes red, green and blue light.

17. The light emitting device of claim 1, wherein the wavelength converting layer has a side surface being substantially coplanar with the side surface of the substrate.