LED with substrate modifications for enhanced light extraction and method of making same
First Claim
1. A method of fabricating a light emitting diode (LED) including a growth substrate having a light emitting surface, said method comprising:
- growing an epitaxial light emission region on a surface of the growth substrate opposite the light emitting surface, wherein said light emission region includes an active layer configured to generate light;
applying a reactive ion etch (RIE) process to at least a portion of the light emitting surface of said growth substrate for a time duration sufficient to change the morphology of the light emitting surface of said growth substrate; and
forming a plurality of etched features associated with said light emitting surface prior to applying the RIE process.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The surface morphology of an LED light emitting surface is changed by applying a reactive ion etch (RIE) process to the light emitting surface. Etched features, such as truncated pyramids, may be formed on the emitting surface, prior to the RIE process, by cutting into the surface using a saw blade or a masked etching technique. Sidewall cuts may also be made in the emitting surface prior to the RIE process. A light absorbing damaged layer of material associated with saw cutting is removed by the RIE process. The surface morphology created by the RIE process may be emulated using different, various combinations of non-RIE processes such as grit sanding and deposition of a roughened layer of material or particles followed by dry etching.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating a light emitting diode (LED) including a growth substrate having a light emitting surface, said method comprising:
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growing an epitaxial light emission region on a surface of the growth substrate opposite the light emitting surface, wherein said light emission region includes an active layer configured to generate light; applying a reactive ion etch (RIE) process to at least a portion of the light emitting surface of said growth substrate for a time duration sufficient to change the morphology of the light emitting surface of said growth substrate; and forming a plurality of etched features associated with said light emitting surface prior to applying the RIE process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of fabricating an LED including a growth substrate and an epitaxial light emitting region, said growth substrate comprising a primary light emitting surface having at least one cut surface to increase light extraction with a light absorbing damaged layer of material and a light emission region on a surface of the substrate opposite the light emitting surface, said method comprising:
applying a reactive ion etch (RIE) process to the cut surface of said growth substrate for a time duration sufficient to remove at least a portion of the damaged layer of material. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
Specification