U.S. patent application number 11/444402 was filed with the patent office on 2006-12-07 for side-emitting led package and method of manufacturing the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS CO., LTD. Invention is credited to Myoung Soo Choi, Hun Joo Hahm, Kyung Taeg Han, Seong Yeon Han, Seon Goo Lee, Young Sam Park, Chang Ho Song.
Application Number | 20060273337 11/444402 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37493287 |
Filed Date | 2006-12-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060273337 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Han; Kyung Taeg ; et
al. |
December 7, 2006 |
Side-emitting LED package and method of manufacturing the same
Abstract
The invention relates to a side-emitting LED package and a
manufacturing method thereof. The side-emitting LED package
includes a substrate with an electrode formed thereon, and a light
source disposed on the substrate and electrically connected to the
electrode. The side-emitting LED package also includes a molded
part having an upper surface with a center thereof depressed
concavely, covering and protecting the substrate and the light
source, and a reflection layer covering an entire upper surface of
the molded part to reflect light sideward from the molded part
which forms a light transmitting surface. The package is not
restricted in the shape of the molded part and is not affected by
the LED chip size, enabling a compact structure. The invention can
also process a substrate by a PCB process, enabling
mass-production.
Inventors: |
Han; Kyung Taeg; (Hwasung,
KR) ; Choi; Myoung Soo; (Seoul, KR) ; Lee;
Seon Goo; (Gunpo, KR) ; Hahm; Hun Joo;
(Sungnam, KR) ; Han; Seong Yeon; (Suwon, KR)
; Song; Chang Ho; (Seoul, KR) ; Park; Young
Sam; (Seoul, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP
600 13TH STREET, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20005-3096
US
|
Assignee: |
SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS CO.,
LTD
|
Family ID: |
37493287 |
Appl. No.: |
11/444402 |
Filed: |
June 1, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
257/98 ;
257/E25.02; 257/E33.059; 257/E33.072 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 2924/12035
20130101; H01L 2224/48091 20130101; H01L 2224/48091 20130101; H01L
2924/181 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101;
H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L 2924/00014
20130101; H01L 2924/12041 20130101; H01L 2924/15787 20130101; H01L
24/97 20130101; H01L 2924/12041 20130101; H01L 2924/181 20130101;
H01L 25/0753 20130101; H01L 33/60 20130101; H01L 33/54 20130101;
H01L 2924/1815 20130101; H01L 2924/12035 20130101; H01L 2924/15787
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
257/098 |
International
Class: |
H01L 33/00 20060101
H01L033/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 1, 2005 |
KR |
10-2005-0046618 |
Claims
1. A light emitting diode (LED) package for emitting light sideward
from a light source comprising: a substrate with an electrode
formed thereon; a light source disposed on the substrate and
electrically connected to the electrode; a molded part having an
upper surface with a center thereof depressed concavely, the molded
part covering and protecting the substrate and the light source;
and a reflection layer covering an entire upper surface of the
molded part to reflect light sideward from the molded part which
forms a light transmitting surface.
2. The LED package according to claim 1, wherein the reflection
layer is formed by depositing metal selected from a group
consisting of Al, Au, Ag, Ni, W, Ti, and Pt.
3. The LED package according to claim 1, wherein the reflection
layer is formed by attaching a thin film having a high reflectivity
on the molded part.
4. The LED package according to claim 1, wherein the light source
comprises at least one LED chip disposed the molded part.
5. The LED package according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is
made of a printed circuit board or ceramic substrate with the
electrode formed thereon.
6. The LED package according to claim 1, wherein the reflection
layer prevents light from leaking upward therethrough.
7. A method of manufacturing a light emitting diode (LED) package
for emitting light sideward from a light source, the method
comprising steps of: providing a substrate with an electrode formed
thereon; disposing a light source on the substrate; forming a
molded part on the substrate with the light source disposed
thereon, the molded part having an upper surface with a center
thereof depressed concavely; forming a reflection layer for-
covering an entire upper surface of the molded part; and cutting
the substrate, the molded part, and the reflection layer stacked in
their order so that a light transmitting surface is formed on a cut
section in the side of the molded part with the reflection layer
thereon.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the molded part
contains phosphor and is formed by transparent Epoxy Molding
Compound (EMC) transfer molding.
9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of forming a
reflection layer comprises depositing metal selected from a group
consisting of Al, Au, Ag, Ni, W, Ti, and Pt.
10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of forming a
reflection layer comprises attaching a thin film having a high
reflectivity on the molded part.
11. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of cutting
comprises cutting the reflection layer and the substrate such that
they have the same edge shape as the molded part.
12. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of forming a
light transmitting surface comprises cutting the substrate, the
molded part and the reflection layer in a direction that intersects
a plane where the LED chip is disposed on.
Description
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent
Application No. 2005-46618 filed on Jun. 1, 2005, in the Korean
Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a side-emitting LED package
for emitting light sideward, and a method of manufacturing the
same. More particularly, the invention relates to a side-emitting
LED package, which has a reflective layer easily manufactured into
desired shapes for emitting light sideward, can be mass-produced in
a compact size regardless of an LED chip size, and can have an LED
array inside thereof, thereby significantly improving productivity,
and a method of manufacturing the same.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Recently, an LED package has been increasingly adopted in an
LCD backlight unit (LCD BLU). The high power package used for an
LCD backlight unit adopts vertical side emission method in which a
package with a heat slug mounted thereon is covered by a lens,
which results in a problem of a quite large thickness. However, the
current trend is that slimmer LCD backlight units require slimmer
LED packages therefor.
[0006] FIG. 1(a) illustrates a side emitting LED package 200
according to the prior art. In such a conventional structure, a
substrate 210 with an LED chip 205 mounted thereon is covered by a
lens 212. This entails an additional process of bonding the lens
212 onto the substrate 210 in which a separate lens 212 is
manufactured and bonded.
[0007] FIG. 1(b) illustrates another conventional LED structure
230. In this conventional technology, a planar reflective film 237
is formed on a molded part 235 on a substrate 232. However, this
method is not effective in allowing light from the LED chip 240 to
be reflected on the reflective film and reflected sideward from the
package.
[0008] FIG. 2(a) illustrates further another structure of an LED
package 260. This conventional structure is taught in Japanese
Patent Publication 10-82916, in which a molded part 262 has a
concave depression on an upper surface thereof, and a reflection
layer 265 formed on the concave depression to form a light
transmitting surface around the sides of the molded part 262.
However, in such a conventional structure, the light reflection
layer 265 is formed only on some portion of the center of the
molded part 262, and an LED chip 270 is mounted on a
trapezoid-shaped lead terminal 272.
[0009] Therefore, such a conventional structure is limited in
emitting light sideward from a conventional upward direction, and
the lead terminal results in low productivity per hour.
[0010] FIG. 2(b) illustrates yet another LED package 300, which is
taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,674,096 granted to Mathew L. Sommers. In
this structure, a transparent molded part 304 wraps around an LED
chip 302 and has a reflective surface 306 with a concavely
depressed center on an upper surface thereof. And the molded part
304 has a reflective layer 308 formed on the reflecting surface
306, forming a light transmitting surface 310 around the sides of
the molded part 304.
[0011] In this conventional structure, however, light is scattered
upward, and thus is limited in effectively inducing light to be
emitted sideward, and also has low productivity per hour owing to
the lead terminal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention has been made to solve the foregoing
problems of the prior art and it is therefore an object of the
present invention to provide a side-emitting LED package which
prevents light from being scattered upward beyond a reflective
layer and effectively reflects light sideward, and a method of
manufacturing the same.
[0013] It is another object of the invention to provide a
side-emitting LED package having a molded part easily manufactured
in a desired shape, which can be mass-produced by a manufacturing
process of a PCB, and a method of manufacturing thereof.
[0014] It is yet another object of the invention to provide a
method of manufacturing a side-emitting LED package adopting EMC
(Epoxy Molding Compound) transfer molding to minimize color
dispersion.
[0015] According to an aspect of the invention for realizing the
object, there is provided a light emitting diode (LED) package for
emitting light sideward from a light source including: a substrate
with an electrode formed thereon; a light source disposed on the
substrate and electrically connected to the electrode; a molded
part having an upper surface with a center thereof depressed
concavely, the molded part covering and protecting the substrate
and the light source; and a reflection layer covering an entire
upper surface of the molded part to reflect light sideward from the
molded part which forms a light transmitting surface.
[0016] According to another aspect of the invention for realizing
the object, there is provided a method of manufacturing a light
emitting diode (LED) package for emitting light sideward from a
light source, the method including steps of: providing a substrate
with an electrode formed thereon; disposing a light source on the
substrate; forming a molded part on the substrate with the, light
source disposed thereon, the molded part having an upper surface
with a center thereof depressed concavely; forming a reflection
layer for covering an entire upper surface of the molded part; and
cutting the substrate, the molded part, and the reflection layer
stacked in their order so that a light transmitting surface is
formed on a cut section in the side of the molded part with the
reflection layer thereon.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The above and other objects, features and other advantages
of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the
following detailed description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates a side-emitting LED package according to
the prior art, in which (a) is a structural view including a lens,
and (b) is a block diagram including a planar reflective film;
[0019] FIG. 2 illustrates another side-emitting LED package
according to the prior art, in which (a) is a sectional view
illustrating the package with a concave reflecting surface and a
reflective layer on an upper surface thereof, and (b) is a
sectional view illustrating the package with a funnel-shaped
reflecting surface and a reflective layer on a central portion of
the reflecting surface;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a side-emitting
LED package according to the present invention, in which (a) is a
structure with a circumferential light-transmitting surface and a
funnel-shaped reflective layer, (b) is a structure with an angled
light-transmitting surface and a funnel-shaped reflective layer,
and (c) is a structure with an angled light-transmitting surface
and a centrally depressed reflective layer with centrally depressed
edges;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating the side-emitting
LED package according to the present invention, in which (a) is a
structure with a circumferential light-transmitting surface and a
funnel-shaped reflective layer, (b) is a structure with an angled
light-transmitting surface and a funnel-shaped reflective layer,
and (c) is a structure with an angled light-transmitting surface
and a centrally depressed reflective layer with centrally depressed
edges;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a side-emitting LED
package according to the present invention, in which (a) is a
structure having one LED chip as a light source, and (b) is a
structure having a plurality of LEDs as a light source;
[0023] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a manufacturing method of the
side-emitting LED package having one LED chip as a light source;
and
[0024] FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a manufacturing method of the
side-emitting LED package having a plurality of LED chips as a
light source.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0025] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0026] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a side-emitting LED package 1
according to the present invention is for emitting light sideward
from an LED chip as a light source 5 from the side of a molded part
10. The direction of light emission is preferably in parallel with
a plane where the LED chip is mounted on.
[0027] The side-emitting LED package 1 according to the present
invention has a substrate 15 with an electrode 15a formed thereon.
The substrate 15 can preferably be a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) or
a ceramic substrate with a pattern electrode or a vertical
electrode 15a such as a via.
[0028] The LED chip 5(see FIG. 4) is mounted on the substrate 15
and electrically connected to the electrode 15a. The LED chip can
be a horizontal type with electric terminals formed on an upper
surface thereof and can also be a vertical type with electric
terminals formed on upper and lower surfaces thereof.
[0029] In addition, a molded part 10 is formed on the substrate 15
having the light source 5 disposed thereon. The molded part 10 is
made by curing resin, etc., and preferably made of a transparent
Epoxy Molding Compound (EMC) layer containing phosphor to minimize
color dispersion.
[0030] In the present invention, a mold (not shown) for forming the
molded part 10 can have various shapes to obtain various forms of
the molded part. 10. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3(a) and (b),
the molded part 10 can have an upper surface with a funnel-shaped
center, or as shown in FIG. 3(c), can have an upper surface with a
depressed center, and centrally depressed peripheral edges, and
protruded edge corners. These shapes of the mold (not shown) for
the molded part 10 can be formed by machining the mold in advance
according to the desired structure of the molded part 10, as will
be described later in a manufacturing method of the package.
[0031] After forming the molded part 10 in one of the above
structures, a reflective layer 20 is formed on the molded part 10,
covering the outer surface of the molded part 10. The reflective
layer 20 is formed by depositing metal selected from a group
consisting of Al, Au, Ag, Ni, W, Ti and Pt. Alternatively, the
reflective layer 20 can be a thin film directly attached on an
upper surface of the molded part 10 or a thin film encapsulating an
upper surface of the molded part 10. The reflective layer 20
completely wraps an upper surface of the molded part 10 to prevent
light from leaking upward therethrough, so that the side of the
molded part 10 forms a light-transmitting surface 17.
[0032] The light-transmitting surface 17 is preferably formed
substantially perpendicular to a plane of the substrate 15 on which
the LED chip mounted the light source 5. In addition, as shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4, the light-transmitting surface 17 may be a
circumferential surface or an angled surface having a polygonal
edge shape.
[0033] Preferably, the reflective layer 20, the molded part 10 and
the substrate 15 have the same edge shape so that the reflective
layer 20 completely covers the upper surface of the molded part 10
to prevent light from leaking upward therethrough.
[0034] In addition, the side-emitting LED package 1 according to
the present invention may have a light source composed of one LED
chip disposed inside the molded part 10 as shown in FIG. 5(a), or a
plurality of LED chips disposed inside the molded part 10 as shown
in FIG. 5(b).
[0035] Now, a manufacturing method of the side-emitting LED package
according to the present invention will be explained in detail
hereinafter.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 6, in the manufacturing method 100 of the
side-emitting LED package of the present invention, one LED chip
needs to be prepared to be disposed 5 inside one molded part 10
having a reflective layer 20 thereon, forming a light source.
[0037] The manufacturing method 100 of the side-emitting LED
package according to the present invention starts with a step 102
of providing a substrate 15 with electrodes 15a formed thereon. The
substrate 15 may be a PCB or a ceramic substrate with vertical
electrodes such as a via and pattern electrodes 15a formed thereon,
and in either case, vias are formed as a vertical electrode in
areas where the LED chips are mounted as a light source 5.
[0038] The next step 104 is disposing a light source 5 on the
substrate 15.
[0039] More specifically, in this step 104, a plurality of LED
chips are mounted on one substrate 15 to form a plurality of light
sources 5 for a plurality of unit packages, and each of the light
sources 5 are electrically connected to each of the electrodes 15a
of the substrate 15.
[0040] In the next step 106, a molded part 10 is formed on the
substrate 15 having the above described light source 5 disposed
thereon. In this step 106, the molded part 10 preferably contains
phosphor and is formed by transparent Epoxy Molding Compound (EMC)
transfer molding to minimize color dispersion after it is
cured.
[0041] In addition, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the
molded part 10 can be formed with a mold (not shown) which may be
in various forms such as having an upper surface with a
funnel-shaped center, or having an upper surface with a depressed
center and centrally depressed peripheral edges.
[0042] In the next step 108, metal having high reflectivity, for
example, selected from a group consisting of Al, Au, Ag, Ni, W, Ti
and Pt is deposited on an outer surface of the molded part 10, or a
separate thin film having a high reflectivity is attached on or
encapsulates the molded part 10. With the molded part 10 formed as
just described, in the next step 110, the substrate 15, the molded
part 10, and the reflective layer 20 stacked in their order are
cut.
[0043] The above cutting step 110 may adopt dicing, breaking, or
laser cutting depending on the desired structure of the
side-emitting LED package.
[0044] That is, for a side-emitting LED package 1 having a
rectangular edge-shaped light transmitting surface 17, the
substrate 15, the molded part 10, and the reflective layer 20 are
diced or broken to be separated into individual side-emitting LED
package 1 in the step 110.
[0045] Alternatively, the substrate 15, the molded part 10 and the
reflective layer 20 may be laser-machined to obtain a side-emitting
LED package 1 having circumferential-edge light-transmitting
surfaces 17.
[0046] The substrate 15, the molded part 10 and the reflective
layer 20 are cut as just described to obtain the side-emitting LED
package 1 having one LED chip mounted therein for the light source
5 in step 112.
[0047] The side-emitting LED package manufactured as described has
the reflective layer 20 completely covering an upper surface of the
molded part 20, thereby preventing light, emitted from the LED chip
which is the light source 5, from being scattered through the upper
part thereof and effectively reflecting light sideward from the
side of the package.
[0048] In addition, the substrate 15, the molded part 10 and the
reflective layer 20 can be easily mass-produced by a process of
manufacturing a PCB with increased productivity. Moreover, with the
molded part 10 minimizing color dispersion the side-emitting LED
package 1 has superior emission capabilities.
[0049] FIG. 7 illustrates step-by-step another manufacturing method
150 of a side-emitting LED package according to the present
invention, in which a plurality of LED chips are disposed as a
light source inside one molded part 10 having a reflective layer 20
thereon.
[0050] The manufacturing method of the side-emitting LED package
starts with a step 152 of providing a substrate 15 with electrodes
15a formed thereon as explained herein with reference to FIG.
6.
[0051] In an area on the substrate 15 where the LED chips for the
light source 5 are mounted on, the electrodes 15a are formed and a
plurality of vias are formed to function as vertical
electrodes.
[0052] The next step 154 is disposing a plurality of LED chips on
the substrate 15 for the light source, and electrically connecting
each of the LED chips to each of the electrodes 15a using
wires.
[0053] In the next step 156, a molded part 10 is formed on the
substrate 15 with the light sources disposed thereon, in which the
molded part 10 is formed by transparent Epoxy Molding Compound
(EMC) transfer molding.
[0054] In the next step 158, as explained herein with reference to
FIG. 6, metal having a high reflectivity, for example, selected
from a group consisting of Al, Au, Ag, Ni, W, Ti and Pt is
deposited on an outer surface of the molded part 10, or a thin film
having a high reflectivity is attached on or encapsulates the
molded part 10.
[0055] In the last step 160, the substrate 15, the molded art 10
and the reflective layer 20 are cut to form light-transmitting
surfaces 17 on cut sections.
[0056] The substrate 15, the molded part 10 and the reflective
layer 20 are cut as just described to obtain a plurality of
side-emitting LED packages 1 having a plurality of LED chips for
the light source 5 therein in the step 162.
[0057] The side-emitting LED package 1 manufactured as just
described has the reflective layer 20 completely covering an upper
part of the molded part 10, preventing light emitted from the light
source 5 from being scattered upward of the reflective layer 20,
thereby effectively reflecting light sideward through the
light-transmitting surface 17.
[0058] In addition, the substrate 15, the molded part 10 and the
reflective layer 20 can be mass-produced by a PCB manufacturing
process, with increased productivity. Moreover, with the molded
part 10 minimizing color dispersion and a plurality of LED chips
used for the light source, the side-emitting LED package 1 has
superior emission capabilities.
[0059] In addition, the present invention can obtain white light by
mounting a red LED chip, a green LED chip and a blue LED chip for
the light source 5.
[0060] Furthermore, a Zener diode can also be mounted in the
package.
[0061] In the present invention as set forth above, a molded part
can be formed without being restricted in shapes, thereby enabling
a compact thin package. Further, a light-transmitting surface is
formed substantially perpendicular to a plane where a LED chip is
mounted on, and thus the package can be manufactured in a small
thickness regardless of the size of the LED chip.
[0062] In addition, the substrate is processed in the same fashion
as a PCB, that is, the manufacturing process from mounting an LED
chip to forming a molded part and cutting the stacked structure
afterwards is proceeded in the same fashion as a manufacturing
process of a PCB, enabling mass production and an LED array inside
the package.
[0063] Moreover, in the present invention, a mold (not shown) for
forming a molded part can have various forms to realize various
structures of the molded part, which thus allows obtaining a
reflective layer on the molded part in a desired form.
[0064] Furthermore, according to the present invention, the molded
part contains phosphor and is formed by transparent Epoxy Molding
Compound (EMC) transfer molding, thereby minimizing color
dispersion after it is cured, and thus significantly enhancing the
optical properties of the package.
[0065] The present invention has been described with reference to a
preferred embodiments but the invention may be embodied in many
different forms and should not be construed as limited to the
embodiments set forth herein, While the present invention has been
shown and described in connection with the preferred embodiments,
it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications
and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *