Lighting devices having remote lumiphors that are excited by lumiphor-converted semiconductor excitation sources

• US 9,220,149 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2013
• Issued: 12/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEAL Industries Lighting, LLC (Ideal Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pickard, Paul, Van de Ven, Antony P., LeToquin, Ronan P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Santiago, Mariceli
• Application Number:
  US13/891,744
• Publication Number:
  US 20130241392A1
• Time in Patent Office: 956 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/8592 Applying permanent coating, e.g. protective coating
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/0753 the devices being arranged next to each other
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• 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 33/483 Containers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/504 Elements with two or more wavelength conversion materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/507 the elements being in intimate contact with parts other than the semiconductor body or integrated with parts other than the semiconductor body
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/12 Light sources with substantially two-dimensional radiating surfaces

Abstract

Lighting devices include a semiconductor light emitting device and first and second spaced-apart lumiphors. The first lumiphor has a first surface that is positioned to receive radiation emitted by the semiconductor light emitting device and a second surface opposite the first surface. The second lumiphor has a first surface that is positioned to receive radiation emitted by the semiconductor light emitting device and radiation emitted by the luminescent materials in the first lumiphor. The first lumiphor is a leaky lumiphor in that the luminescent materials therein wavelength convert less than 90% of the radiation from the semiconductor light emitting device light that is incident on the first lumiphor.

Claims

1. A lighting device, comprising:

a plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices, wherein at least some of the semiconductor light emitting devices include a respective associated first lumiphor that has a first surface that is positioned to receive radiation emitted by its associated semiconductor light emitting device;

a second lumiphor that is different from the first lumiphors, the second lumiphor positioned to receive radiation emitted by the semiconductor light emitting devices and being spaced-apart from the first lumiphors;

wherein the ratio of average particle size of the luminescent materials in at least one of the first lumiphors to average particle size of the luminescent materials in the second lumiphor is at least 4;

1.

2. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the semiconductor light emitting devices comprises a blue light emitting diode (“

LED”

) that emits light having a peak wavelength between 400 and 489 nm, and wherein the second lumiphor includes luminescent materials that emit light having a peak wavelength between 540 and 599 nm.

3. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the semiconductor light emitting devices comprises a blue light emitting diode (“

LED”

) that emits light having a peak wavelength between 400 and 489 nm, and wherein at least one of the first lumiphors includes luminescent materials that emit light having a peak wavelength between 490 and 515 nm.

4. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein at least one semiconductor light emitting devices comprises a blue light emitting diode (“

LED”

) that emits light having a peak wavelength between 400 and 489 nm, and wherein at least one of the first lumiphors includes luminescent materials that emit light having a dominant wavelength of at least 600 nm.

5. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein each first lumiphor is spaced-apart from and between its respective semiconductor light emitting device and the second lumiphor.

6. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices comprises a blue light emitting diode (“

LED”

) that emit light having a peak wavelength in the blue color range.

7. The lighting device of claim 6, wherein the second lumiphor includes phosphor particles having an average diameter of between 2 microns and 6 microns, and wherein the first lumiphor includes phosphor particles having an average diameter of between 25 microns and 40 microns.

8. The lighting device of claim 7, wherein the first lumiphor has a thickness of less than 60 microns.

9. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein at least two of the plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices comprise blue light emitting diodes that emit light having a peak wavelength in the blue color range and that have respective associated first lumiphors, and wherein some of the light emitted by the two blue light emitting diodes and by their respective associated first lumiphors passes through the second lumiphor.

10. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein a first of the plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices has an associated first lumiphor that includes luminescent materials that emit light having a peak wavelength between 490 and 515 nm and a second of the plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices has an associated first lumiphor that includes luminescent materials that emit light having a dominant wavelength of at least 600 nm.

11. A lighting device, comprising:

a first light emitting diode that emits blue light, the first light emitting diode including an associated first lumiphor that has a first surface that is positioned to receive radiation emitted by the first light emitting diode;

a second light emitting diode that emits blue light, the second light emitting diode including an associated second lumiphor that has a first surface that is positioned to receive radiation emitted by the second light emitting diode; and

a third lumiphor that is spaced-apart from both the first and second lumiphors and positioned to receive radiation emitted by the first and second light emitting diodes and by the first and second lumiphors.

12. The lighting device of claim 11, wherein the ratio of average particle size of the luminescent materials in at least one of the first or second lumiphors to average particle size of the luminescent materials in the third lumiphor is at least 4:

1.

13. The lighting device of claim 11, wherein the first lumiphor includes luminescent materials that emit light having a peak wavelength of a first color and the second lumiphor includes luminescent materials that emit light having a peak wavelength of a second color that is different from the first color.

14. The lighting device of claim 13, wherein the first color is cyan and the second color is red.

15. The lighting device of claim 13, wherein the first color is cyan and the second color is green.

16. The lighting device of claim 13, wherein the first color is cyan and the second color is yellow.

17. A lighting device, comprising:

a plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices that emit blue light, wherein at least first and second of the semiconductor light emitting devices include respective associated first lumiphors that each have a first surface that is positioned to receive radiation emitted by its associated semiconductor light emitting device;

a second lumiphor that is different from the first lumiphors, the second lumiphor . positioned to receive radiation emitted by the first and second of the plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices and being spaced-apart from the respective first lumiphors associated with the first and second of the semiconductor light emitting devices;

wherein the ratio of average particle size of the luminescent materials in at least one of the first lumiphors to average particle size of the luminescent materials in the second lumiphor is at least 4;

1.

18. The lighting device of claim 17, wherein the second lumiphor includes phosphor particles having an average diameter of between 2 microns and 6 microns, and wherein the first lumiphor includes phosphor particles having an average diameter of between 25 microns and 40 microns, and the first lumiphor has a thickness of less than 60microns.

19. The lighting device of claim 17, wherein the first lumiphor associated with the first of the plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices includes luminescent materials that emit light having a peak wavelength of a first color and the first lumiphor associated with the second of the plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices includes luminescent materials that emit light having a peak wavelength of a second color that is different from the first color.

20. The lighting device of claim 17, wherein a first of the plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices has an associated first lumiphor that includes luminescent materials that emit light having a peak wavelength between 490 and 515 nm and a second of the plurality of semiconductor light emitting devices has an associated first lumiphor that includes luminescent materials that emit light having a dominant wavelength of at least 600 nm.