Lighting devices and systems with dual color flexible foil pcba and methods of manufacture

Abstract

Lighting devices and systems with dual color flexible foil PCBA and methods of manufacture are described. A lighting device includes at least two vertically stacked metal layers and multiple contact lines. A respective one of the electrical contact lines is disposed in one of the metal layers. At least two interposers are spaced apart along a horizontal direction of the metal layers. A first LED is on each of the interposers. The first LEDs emit a first color light when powered on. A second LED is on each of the interposers, spaced apart from the first LED in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction of the metal layers. The second LEDs emit a second color light different than the first color when powered on. The first and second LEDs are electrically coupled to at least two of the electrical contact lines.

Description

LIGHTING DEVICES AND SYSTEMS WITH DUAL COLOR FLEXIBLE FOIL PCBA AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURECROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 526,324, filed July 12, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND

[0002] Technologies in the automotive industry have trended to slim, strip-like lighting solutions, both for interior and exterior lighting functions. And new styling solution for car interior and exterior illumination (e.g., white light strips for daytime running lamps (DRL) and position lighting, amber light strips for signaling, and red light strips for stop / tail functions) continue to be sought after. In addition, new styling solutions are sought for car interior and exterior illumination purposes. For example, contour lines and roof rail illumination are becoming popular as well as illumination of the grill area, which is not functional for electric cars. A rising trend for such technologies is the use of homogeneous line emitters or “coins.”SUMMARY

[0003] Lighting devices and systems with dual color flexible foil PCBA and methods of manufacture are described. A lighting device includes at least two vertically stacked metal layers and multiple contact lines. A respective one of the electrical contact lines is disposed in one of the metal layers. At least two interposers are spaced apart along a horizontal direction of the metal layers. A first LED is on each of the interposers. The first LEDs emit a first color light when powered on. A second LED is on each of the interposers, spaced apart from the first LED in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction of the metal layers. The second LEDs emit a second color light different than the first color when powered on. The first and second LEDs are electrically coupled to at least two of the electrical contact lines.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] A more detailed understanding can be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0005] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing build-ups of a flexible foil printed circuit board (PCB) that provide S-wires between interposers;

[0006] FIG. 1 B is a cross-sectional view of the flexible foil PCB of FIG. 1 A showing one interposer and one LED on the interposer;

[0007] FIG. 2 is a diagram of another example flexible foil PCB;

[0008] FIG. 3 is a diagram of another example flexible foil PCB;

[0009] FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of an example circuit for electrically coupling, controlling and driving LEDs of the flexible foil PCB of FIG. 1 A, 1 B, 2 or 3;

[0010] FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of another example circuit for electrically coupling, controlling and driving LEDs of the flexible foil PCB of FIG. 1 A, 1 B, 2 or 3;

[0011] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing a lighting device; and

[0012] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing an automotive lighting system.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] Examples of different light illumination systems and / or light emitting diode (“LED”) implementations will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. These examples are not mutually exclusive, and features found in one example may be combined with features found in one or more other examples to achieve additional implementations. Accordingly, it will be understood that the examples shown in the accompanying drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and they are not intended to limit the disclosure in any way. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

[0014] It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be termed a second element and a second element may be termed a first element without departing from the scope of the present invention. As used herein, the term "and / or" may include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0015] It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being "on" or extending "onto" another element, it may be directly on or extend directly onto the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" or extending "directly onto" another element, there may be no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected"or "coupled" to another element, it may be directly connected or coupled to the other element and / or connected or coupled to the other element via one or more intervening elements. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, there are no intervening elements present between the element and the other element. It will be understood that these terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the element in addition to any orientation depicted in the figures.

[0016] Relative terms such as "below," "above," "upper,", "lower," "horizontal" or "vertical" may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer, or region to another element, layer, or region as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that these terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.

[0017] Conventional lighting strips may be impeded by their cost structure due to a complex buildup of individual wires connecting interposer boards to form an electrical circuit. In this regard, the cost structure may require expensive components that are individually assembled by an expensive surface mounting technology (“SMT”) assembly process, with a multitude of solder joints in one homogeneous line emitter. In addition, because wires are mounted on a backside of an interposer board of the homogeneous line emitter and light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) are mounted on a frontside of the interposer board, resulting in a carrier embedded in silicone to shape the homogeneous line emitter that is rather thick. Additionally, conventional lighting strips may lack real three-dimensional (3D) flexibility and an inability to withstand harsh automotive use conditions due to larger dimensions found in conventional technologies with or without integration into silicone. Such conventional lighting strips are also typically limited to a single color, typically white, which is not ideal for automotive applications, which may benefit from, at least, red and amber colors, in addition to white, to fulfill the many different and growing lighting functions in the vehicle.

[0018] Embodiments described herein provide for a flexible automotive grade light source. Generally, the flexible automotive grade light source is a more cost-effective light source that can be small in size, have a high flexibility, have a high light flux, have a high homogeneity, and include automotive grade robustness with inexpensive components. Embodiments described herein further enable such light source to have multi-color function, as described in detail below.

[0019] By way of example, the flexible automotive grade light source can utilize a specially shaped flexible foil printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) build-up including a flexible 3D LED light source. In embodiments, the flexible foil PCBA can be a thin film flexible foil PCBA. The specially shaped flexible foil PCBA may replace wires and interposers of conventional technologies. The specially shaped flexible foil PCBA may include electrical connection schemes where two or three electrical contact lines are provided per metal layer that enable multiple electrical contact lines in a vertical stack ofmetal layers. For example, two metal layers with two electrical contact lines each may enable four electrical contact lines that allow more flexibility to electrically connect the flexible 3D LED light source compared to conventional technologies. In conventional technologies, for example, the number of electrical contact lines may be limited to three due to space availability. Additionally, the two or three electrical contact lines per metal layer can include segments (e.g., three or more bends, such as five (5) bends or semi-circles / half-sines segments) constructed to withstand automotive reliability requirements. Embodiments where four or more electrical contact lines are provided via multiple metal layers enable individual addressing of segments of LEDs in the strips as well as multi-color functionality, as described in detail below.

[0020] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing build-ups of a flexible foil PCB 101 and 102 that provide S- wires (e.g., in the area 1 10) between interposers 120. According to one or more embodiments, using a specially shaped flexible foil PCB build-up, a flexible 3D LED light source can be created where the flexible foil PCB may replace the wires and interposers carrying LEDs of conventional technologies.

[0021] In the examples illustrated in FIG. 1A, the flexible foil PCB 101 , 102 can be constructed such that an area 1 10 between interposers 120 on which the LEDs are placed may include any number of curved shapes to mimic, for example, winding river, serpentine or snake-like, parabolic, ellipsoidal, and / or sinusoidal shapes. The interposers 120 can be of any shape, such as rectangular or an irregular shape, and can be configured to receive a placement of SMT components (e.g., LEDs, microcontrollers, etc.). As mentioned above, the area 1 10 may include multiple stacked metal layers, which may each include multiple electrical contact lines. The interposers 120 may be lands in the metal layers in embodiments. In some embodiments, the metal layers and electrical contact lines may be formed from copper.

[0022] By way of example, a circular-sinusoidally shaped area 110 can include at least three sections 131 , 132, and 135. The two outermost sections 131 and 135 terminate into the interposers 120. As shown in FIG. 1A, quarter circles or half sines may be drawn into and integrated in the interposers 120. According to one or more embodiments, a circular-sinusoidally shaped area 110 can include five sections 131 , 132, 133, 134, and 135, with the interior sections 132, 133, and 134 being half circular or half sinusoidal shapes. By way of example, each section 131 , 132, 133, 134, and 135 can be horizontally flipped relative to the previous or next section (e.g., a shifted mirror of an adjacent section). According to one or more embodiments, the five sections 131 , 132, 133, 134, and 135 can have a lower amplitude at a height of the interposers 120.

[0023] According to one or more embodiments, the at least three sections 131 , 132, and 135 can be characterized by an outer border line (e.g., an outer border of the bent segments), an inner border line (e.g., an inner border of the bent segments), and two straight lines connecting the ends of the twoborder lines in the shortest way. These straight lines are helping lines only where the at least three sections 131 , 132, and 135 are joined together. The inner border line of the outermost semi- circles / half-sines thereby continues to follow the half circular shape, with the consequence that the outermost half sines 131 and 135 form a quarter sine transitioning into a quarter circle. The inner border line at the end of the half circle then transfers into a spiral with opposite curvature as compared to the quarter circle within the interposer. In border cases, the spiral can become another semi-circle. By this the edge that would have formed on the interposer is cut away. The top border line of the semi- circle / half-sine ends at the edge of the interposer, transitioning smoothly from the half circular / sinusoidal section to the straight interposer upper border. Altogether, the flexible foil PCBA shape minimizes a stress build-up during thermal cycling to a point that the PCBA can be reliably embedded into the silicone matrix to form the desired light source and meeting automotive reliability requirements.

[0024] The flexible foil PCBA can be constructed such that areas 150 between interposers 160 on which LEDs 170 are placed (also referred to herein as LED lands) include any number of curved shapes to mimic winding river, serpentine or snake-like, parabolic, ellipsoidal, and / or sinusoidal shapes. According to one or more embodiments, outermost bent second area segments may be partially integrated into first area lands. Further, an inner border line of the segment continues into the first area land to form a semi-circle, followed by a spiral of an opposite turning direction to connect the integrated segments inner border line with the outer side of the land. Furthermore, an outer border line of the first half of the outermost segment in a similar manner partly continues into the land and connects the segment border to the land border in a half circular or swinging curve.

[0025] According to one or more embodiments, each flexible automotive grade light source may include the PCBA embedded in a silicone matrix, that provides a light source with homogeneous high flux light output. Further, each flexible automotive grade light source may be (e.g., each 3D LED product) mechanically flexible, bi-axially bendable, and capable to meet the high automotive reliability requirements. Further, each flexible automotive grade light source may be integrated directly as a shapeable line or combined with a suitable optical element to create an elongated light surface. According to one or more embodiments, each flexible automotive grade light source can include animation by segmenting. Segmenting can include an ability to turn on and off individual segments independent of the others, as is required in signaling or animated welcome light functions. Individual segments may correspond to different colors of light, as described in detail below.

[0026] According to one or more embodiments, the flexible automotive grade light source can be constructed with a height selected from a range of 0.01 cm to 1.1 cm (e.g., 8 mm); a width selected from a range of 0.01 cm to 1 .1 cm (e.g., 7 mm); a light emitting area width selected from a range of0.01 cm to 1.1 cm (e.g., 6 mm); a total length selected from a range of 1 cm to 500 cm (e.g., 10 cm or 100 cm). By way of example, the flexible automotive grade light source can be an 8 x 8 mm2 elongated (up to 50 cm) light source with homogeneous high flux light output. The flexible automotive grade light source can provide a maximal allowable LED to LED pitch, and hence an oscillation of a wavy structure can be defined by a thickness of the thin light source. By way of example, a 22 mm LED to LED pitch can be used for 8 mm height to still preserve a homogeneity of the light emitted while reducing the components required per total length to the minimum. By way of another example, larger distance pitches of the flexible automotive grade light source are easier to manufacture compared to a wired approach of conventional technologies. In this regard, a maximum pitch can be dependent on a size of a mixing box of the flexible automotive grade light source. For instance, the flexible automotive grade light source (e.g., a 3D LED size of 6 x 8 mm2) can estimate a maximum LED to LED pitch of 25 mm when a homogeneous light output shall be maintained.

[0027] According to one or more embodiments, the flexible automotive grade light source can include a light source with a light emitting area length comparable to the total length, a light source that is flexible in three dimensions, and a light source with a homogeneous light output from the light emitting surface. According to one or more embodiments, the flexible automotive grade light source can include a light source that can be illuminated at once (e.g., providing static illumination), a light source that can be illuminated in segments (e.g., providing dynamic illumination), and a light source that withstands automotive reliability requirements.

[0028] FIG. 1 B is a cross-sectional view of the flexible foil PCB of FIG. 1 A showing one interposer 154 and one LED 153 on the interposer 154. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1 B, the LED 153 on the interposer 154 is placed in an opening in a whitebox 159. One metal layer 158 is illustrated, which includes three electrical contact lines 155, 156 and 157. As is discussed in detail herein, multiple layers (e.g., up to 4 metal layers or possibly more) may be stacked in a vertical stack, each including one or more (e.g., up to three) electrical contact lines per metal layer. The whitebox 159 is filled with one or more silicone materials. A transparent silicone may fill the space below the interposer in the whitebox. One or more layers 152 of silicone may fill space above the LED in the whitebox, and a diffusor 151 may be placed on top. The diffusor may have a maximum width w.

[0029] In embodiments, the whitebox 159 may be formed from a silicone matrix, which can withstand automotive grade reliability requirements. According to one or more embodiments, the silicone matrix can include a white reflecting H-shaped outer optical mixing box, where a connecting horizontal bar of the H is asymmetrically drawn to a bottom of the H. Further, the flexible foil PCBA is placed into a first cavity of the H and rectangular holes that are punched into the connecting horizontal bar of the H receive the LEDs connected by the flexible foil PCBA to shine into a second cavity of theH. The first cavity can be smaller than the second cavity. Also, both cavities can be filled with clear silicone, where the clear silicone may have a wavy surface structure on a top side that is filled and covered with diffusing silicone. The diffusing silicone can be characterized in that the maximum diffusor thickness w of the wavy structure is placed above the LEDs while a minimum diffusor thickness spot is placed in between the LEDs. Additional round holes can be added in the connecting horizontal bar of the H to allow silicone diffusion through the bar during vacuum processing, which may, for example, help removing air bubbles in the flexible automotive grade light sources). Further, rectangular holes receiving the LEDs can be elongated towards the walls of an outer box to ease silicone diffusion through the connecting horizontal bar of the H during vacuum processing.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a diagram of another example flexible foil PCB 200. According to one or more embodiments, the flexible foil PCB 200 can be one piece. According to one or more embodiments, the flexible foil PCB 200 can be embedded in a silicone matrix. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the flexible foil PCB 200 includes a first land 201 , a second land 202, and a flexible foil area 203.

[0031] The first and second lands 201 and 202 can include a first section 213, a second section 215, and a third section 217. The first and second lands 201 and 202 can include conductive portions 221 and 222. The first and second lands 201 and 202 can include electrical vias to connect the conductive portions 221 and 222 to any surface of the flexible foil PCB.

[0032] The first and second lands 201 and 202 can be any shape, such as rectangular or an irregular shape. The first and second lands 201 and 202 can be configured to receive, with respect to the conductive portions 221 and 222, a placement of SMT components (e.g., LEDs, microcontrollers, etc.). According to one or more embodiments, one or multiple LEDs can be present on a first side of the first and second lands 201 and 202. According to one or more embodiments, at least one connecting structure can be present on at least one of a second side of the first and second lands 201 and 202 to enable an electrical connection of the one or multiple LEDs to a power source.

[0033] According to one or more embodiments, the first section 213 can be rectangular or square lands for the placement of SMT components. The second and third sections 215 and 217 can protrude from the first section 213. A shape of the second and third sections 215 can correspond to a shape of the flexible foil area 203 (e.g., irregular shapes of the lands can include protruding sections that match the outermost ends of the flex foil area). One or more technical effects, benefits, or advantages of the shape of the second and third sections 215 corresponding to the shape of the flex foil area 203 includes eliminating electrical interference, electromagnetic interference, radio-frequency interference, electromagnetic induction, electrostatic coupling, or the like. Further, an outer border 225 can define or characterize the first and second lands 201 and 202. The outer border 225 can include a non-conductive material.

[0034] The flexible foil area 203 can be a portion of the flexible foil PCB substrate between the first and second lands 201 and 202 (pairs of the two or more lands). The flexible foil area 203 can include multiple metal layers, such as multiple copper layers. Each layer can contain electrical contact lines to form an electrical circuit with the first and second lands 201 and 202. For instance, the flexible foil area 203 can include a first conductive material 231 and a second conductive material 232 that correspondingly connect the conductive portions of the first and second lands 201 and 202. The flexible foil area 203 can include electrical vias to connect the electrical contact lines to any surface of the flexible foil area 203. The flexible foil area 203 can include any number of curved shapes to mimic winding river, serpentine or snake-like, parabolic, ellipsoidal, and / or sinusoidal shapes.

[0035] According to one or more embodiments, the flexible foil area 203 may include sinusoidal formed bends (e.g., the bends substantially follow a half-sine path). According to one or more embodiments, the flexible foil area 203 includes semi-circular formed bends or semi-elliptical formed bends (e.g., the bends substantially follow a semi-circle path or a semi-elliptical path). For instance, the flexible foil area 203 can include at least three (3) semi-circular bends, such as five (5), to withstand automotive reliability requirements (e.g., in low voltage automotive lighting applications).

[0036] According to one or more embodiments, the flexible foil area 203 includes parabolic formed bends (e.g., the bends substantially follow a parabolic curve path) For instance, the flexible foil area 203 can include three (3) parabolic formed bends to withstand automotive reliability requirements (e.g., in low voltage automotive lighting applications). According to one or more embodiments, the flexible foil area 203 includes a combination of sinusoidal formed bends, semi-circular formed bends, semi-elliptical formed, and parabolic formed bends.

[0037] By way of example, the flexible foil area 203 can include three bent segments connecting the lands 201 and 202 (though no limited thereto). In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the flexible foil area 203 includes three bent segments 261 , 262, and 263 (i.e., curved or bent portions of the flexible foil area 203). Further, the flexible foil area 203 can define or be characterized by outer borders 265 and 266 and an inner border 267 of the bent segments. The outer borders 365 and 366 and the inner border 267 can include a non-conductive material.

[0038] The bent segments 261 (e.g., an outermost bent area segment) can be partially integrated into the first land 201 . The bent segments 263 (e.g., an outermost bent area segment) can be partially integrated into the second land 202. The inner border 267 of the flex foil area 203 continues into the first and second lands 201 and 202. According to one or more embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 2, the flexible foil area 203 can curve into the first and second lands 201 and 202 (e.g., swing around substantially mirroring the half-sine or parabolic path) at an angle of 35-40 degrees to form a bay 280 or like opening. Thus, the outer borders 265 and 266 continue as the outer boards 225 of the firstand second lands 201 and 202. One or more technical effects, benefits, or advantages of the shape of the bay 280 with respect to the second and third sections 215 may include eliminating electrical interference, electromagnetic interference, radio-frequency interference, electromagnetic induction, electrostatic coupling, or the like.

[0039] FIG. 3 is a diagram of another example flexible foil PCB 300 (e.g., parabolic shaped thin film flexible foil PCBA) according to one or more embodiments. According to one or more embodiments, the flexible foil PCB 300 can be one piece. According to one or more embodiments, the flexible foil PCB 300 can be embedded in a silicone matrix.

[0040] FIG. 3 depicts a repeating pattern and can incorporate the properties of the flexible foil PCB substrate 200, as described herein. The flexible foil PCB substrate 300 can be used in low voltage automotive lighting applications. The flexible foil PCB 300 may include multiple lands 310, multiple flexible foil areas 320, and multiple bays 430. The flexible foil areas 320 utilize parabolic shapes. According to one or more embodiments, the flexible foil areas 320 can include an amplitude that is less than or equal to a height of the lands 310. One or more technical effects, benefits, or advantages of the structure of the example flexible foil PCB substrate 300 includes decreasing an LED to LED pitch with respect to the lands 310 from greater than 20 mm to at or lower than 20 mm, such as 12 mm or lower

[0041] According to one or more embodiments, adjacent segments of the flexible foil areas 320 can mirror (along a length of the flexible foil PCB substrate 300) neighboring segments joined at lines connecting ends of inner and outer borders, such as in shortest manner. By way of example, outermost bent area segments of the flex foil areas 320 can be partially integrated into adjacent lands 310, such that inner borders continue into the adjacent lands 310 by swinging around to substantially mirror a half-sine or parabolic line at an angle of 35-40 degrees and forming a bay like opening. By way of further example, integrating the outermost bent area segments of the flexible foil areas 320 into adjacent lands 310 can include bringing / continuing outer borders of the flexible foil areas 320 to outer borders of the lands 310, which is followed by a spiral of opposite turning direction to connect the integrated segments inner border line with the outer side of the land (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3). The outer borders of the flexible foil areas 320 smoothly transition into top and bottom outer borders of the lands 320, respectively.

[0042] According to one or more embodiments, a connecting structure can be present on a second side or a backside of one of the outermost land 310a or 31 Oe (of the plurality of lands 310). According to one or more embodiments, two or more connecting structures can be present on second sides of one or more of the two outermost lands 310a or 31 Oe (of the plurality of lands 310). According to one or more embodiments, a connecting structure can be present on a second side of the flexible foil PCBin between two outermost lands 310a or 31 Oe (of the plurality of lands 310). According to one or more embodiments, a connecting structure can be present on a second side of interior lands 310b, 310c, or 31 Od (of the plurality of lands 310). According to one or more embodiments, a connecting structure can be present on a second side of the flexible foil PCB substrate in between any of the plurality of lands 310.

[0043] FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of an example circuit 400 for electrically coupling, controlling and driving LEDs of the flexible foil PCB of FIG. 1 A, 1 B, 2 or 3. The circuit 400 may form, or be part of, a lighting device, which may be coupled lo an external control and / or power bus 418 of a vehicle to form an automotive lighting system. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, multiple interposers or lands 402 are spaced apart from one another along a horizontal direction 401 . While nine (9) interposers / lands 402 are illustrated in FIG. 4, the circuit can be formed from as little as two (2) interposers / lands or many more than nine (9) within the scope of the embodiments described herein. A first LED 403 may be provided on each of the interposers / lands 402. A second LED 404 may also be provided on each of the interposers / lands 402.

[0044] The first and second LEDs 402 / 403 on each of the interposers / lands 402 may be spaced apart from each other in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction 401 (represented by the arrow 405 in FIG. 4). It has been found that the homogeneity of the light emitted by the lighting device is strongly dependent on the position of the LEDs along in the horizontal direction 401 but remains unchanged by a shift perpendicular to the horizontal direction. The enables the placement of two LEDs on one interposer / land and, thus, multi-color operation of the lighting device. In embodiments, the first and second LED 402 / 403 on each interposer / land 402 may be spaced apart in the perpendicular direction 405 equidistant from imaginary line running through the lighting device in the horizontal direction 401 (not shown in FIG. 4). In embodiments, the first LEDs 403 may be configured to emit light having a first color when powered on, and the second LEDs 404 may be configured to emit light having a second color, different from the first color, when powered on, allowing the lighting device to illuminate a light-emitting area of the lighting device with two colors mutually independently.

[0045] Taking advantage of the flexible foil PCB described above with respect to FIGs. 1 -3, in the example illustrated in FIG. 4, five (5) electrical contact lines 406, 408, 410, 412, and 414 in three vertically stacked metal layers (not shown in FIG. 4 but described in the embodiments above) may be used to power the first LEDs 403 and the second LEDs 404 independently. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, all of the first and second LEDs 403 and 404 are electrically coupled to the electrical contact line 408, which may be a common anode or cathode. Groups of the first LEDs 403 may be electrically coupled together in series by the electrical contact line 414. Similarly, groups of the second LEDs 404 may be electrically coupled together in series by the electrical contact line 412. Each group offirst LEDs 403 may be electrically coupled to the electrical contact line 406, which may be an anode or cathode line depending on which the electrical contact line 408 is. Similarly, each group of second LEDs 404 may be electrically coupled to the electrical contact line 410, which may an anode or cathode line depending on which the electrical contact line 408 is. Each of the electrical contact lines 406, 408 and 410 may be electrically and / or communicatively coupled to either an internal or external drive circuit 422 and / or controller 420 (collectively referred to herein as control circuitry 416). The control circuitry 416 may control and power on the first LEDs 403 independently of the second LEDs 404, using an external power supply and the electrical contact line 408 (i.e., the common anode or cathode line). In an alternative embodiment, six (6) electrical contact lines may be used and may enable for decoupling the common anode / cathode, at the expense of an additional external contact.

[0046] As mentioned, the electrical contact lines, such as the electrical contact lines 406, 408, 410, 412, and 414 illustrated in FIG. 4, may be provided in multiple, vertically stacked metal layers. Each metal layer can contain up to three (3) electrical contacts, and, therefore, the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, even if a sixth electrical contact line is added, may include just two metal layers. Some embodiments may necessitate less than five (5) electrical contact lines, in which case the two metal layers may include less electrical contact lines per metal layer. Where there is an odd number of electrical contact lines, such as in FIG. 4, different metal layers may include a different number of electrical contact lines. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, for simplicity of design and electrical connection, it may be desirable to place the anode and cathode lines (i.e., electrical contact lines 406, 408 and 410) in a bottom one of the two metal layers and to place the two electrical contact lines 412 and 414 in a top one of the two metal layers, although other arrangements are possible within the scope of the embodiments described herein. In other words, the electrical contact lines in the top metal layer in the vertical stack may be used to contact the LEDs while the buried electrical contact lines (i.e., in the second or bottom metal layer) may be used for connection to an outside contact and controller. In some embodiments, the bottom metal layer in the vertical stack may only contain one electrical contact line or is the one electrical contact line itself (e.g., where the bottom metal layer is used as a common anode or cathode). As in the embodiments described above with respect to FIGs. 1A, 1 B, 2 and 3, the electrical contact lines 406, 408, 410, 412 and 414 may have a wavy shape, or any of the shapes contemplated with respect to FIGs. 1A, 1 B, 2 and 3 and described above, in between the interposers / lands 402. The electrical contact lines in different layers may be at least partially electrically coupled by vias.

[0047] In some embodiments, the controller may be an internal controller and may be disposed on a backside of the interposer opposite from the side on which the LEDs are disposed. The controller may thereby be connected to one or more of the buried electrical contact lines (e.g., the electricalcontact lines in the bottom metal layer of the vertical stack) and electrically coupled to the first, second and potentially third LEDs to actuate them independently in groups. While in some embodiments, the controller may be on the bottom side of the interposer / land, it may be on the top side as well in some embodiments. Each interposer / land may include one or more controllers, one or more controllers may be disposed on one interposer / land in a group to control the entire group together, or one or more controllers may be disposed on at least two interposers / lands in a group for control of the entire group. As described in more detail below, in some embodiments, the controller may be configured to drive the LEDs in parallel to generate a combined color. In some embodiments, the electrical contact lines in the top metal layer of the vertical stack may be connected to one controller each, which may be used to drive groups of the LEDs.

[0048] In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, each group of first and second LEDs 403 and 404 includes three (3) LEDs. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that more or less LEDs can be included a group consistent with the embodiments described herein.

[0049] FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of another example circuit 500 for electrically coupling, controlling and driving LEDs of the flexible foil PCB of FIG. 1 A, 1 B, 2 or 3. As with the circuit 400 of FIG. 4, the circuit 500 may form, or be part of, a lighting device, which may be coupled to an external control and / or power bus 518 of a vehicle to form an automotive lighting system. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, multiple interposers or lands 501 are spaced apart from one another along a horizontal direction 530. While nine (9) interposers / lands 501 are illustrated in FIG. 5, the circuit can be formed from as little as two (2) interposers / lands or many more than nine (9) within the scope of the embodiments described herein. A first LED 502 may be provided on each of the interposers / lands 501 . A second LED 503 may also be provided on each of the interposers / lands 501 . A third LED 504 may also be provided on each of the interposers or lands 501 .

[0050] The first, second and third LEDs 502, 503, 504 on each of the interposers / lands 501 may be spaced apart from each other in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction 530 (represented by the arrow 505 in FIG. 5). In embodiments, the first LEDs 502 may be configured to emit light having a first color when powered on, the second LEDs 503 may be configured to emit light having a second color, different from the first color, when powered on, and the third LEDs 504 may be configured to emit light having a third color, different from the first and second colors, when powered on, allowing the lighting device to illuminate a light-emitting area of the lighting device with three colors mutually independently.

[0051] Taking advantage of the flexible foil PCB described above with respect to FIGs. 1 A, 1 B, 2 and 3, in the example illustrated in FIG. 5, seven (7) electrical contact lines 506, 507, 508, 509, 510, 511 and 512 in three vertically stacked metal layers (not shown in FIG. 5 but described in theembodiments above) may be used to power the first LEDs 502, the second LEDs 503, and the third LEDs 504 independently. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, all of the first and second LEDs 502 and 503 are electrically coupled to the electrical contact line 508, which may be a first common anode or cathode. Similarly, all of the second and third LEDs 503 and 504 are electrically coupled to the electrical contact line 51 1 , which may be a second common anode or cathode. Groups of the first LEDs 502 may be electrically coupled together in series by the electrical contact line 507. Similarly, groups of the second LEDs 503 may be electrically coupled together in series by the electrical contact line 509. Similarly, groups of the third LEDs 504 may be electrically coupled together in series by the electrical contact line 512. Each group of first LEDs 502 may be electrically coupled to the electrical contact line 506, which may be an anode or cathode line depending on which the electrical contact line 508 is. Similarly, each group of third LEDs 504 may be electrically coupled to the electrical contact line 510, which may an anode or cathode line depending on which the electrical contact line 511 is. Each of the electrical contact lines 506, 508, 510 and 511 may be electrically and / or communicatively coupled to either an internal or external drive circuit 522 and / or controller 520 (collectively referred to herein as control circuitry 516) The control circuitry 516 may control and power on the first LEDs 502 independently of the second and third LEDs 503 and 504, using an external power supply and the electrical contact line 508 (i.e., the first common anode or cathode line). The control circuitry 516 may also control and power on the third LEDs 504 independently of the first and second LEDs 502 and 503, using an external power supply and the electrical contact line 511 (i.e., the second common anode or cathode line). In an alternative embodiment, eight (8) electrical contact lines may be used and may enable for decoupling the common anode / cathode, at the expense of an additional external contact.

[0052] As mentioned, the electrical contact lines, such as the electrical contact lines 506, 507, 508, 509, 510, 51 1 and 512 illustrated in FIG. 5, may be provided in multiple, vertically stacked metal layers. Each metal layer can contain up to three (3) electrical contact lines, and, therefore, the embodiment illustrated in FIG 5, even if an eighth electrical contact line is added, may include just three metal layers. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, for simplicity of design and electrical connection, it may be desirable to place two of the anode and cathode lines in each of the bottom two metal layers of the vertical stack. For example the two common electrode or cathode lines 508 and 511 may be placed in the bottom layer or the middle layer and the two electrode or cathode lines 506 and 510 could be placed in the other of the bottom or middle layer. The three (3) electrical contact lines 507,509 and 512 could then be placed in the top layer of the vertical stack. As in the embodiments described above with respect to FIGs. 1A, 1 B, 2 and 3, the electrical contact lines 506, 507, 508, 509,510 and 512 may have a wavy shape, or any of the shapes contemplated with respect to FIGs. 1A,1 B, 2 and 3 and described above, in between the interposers / lands 501 . The electrical contact lines in different layers may be at least partially electrically coupled by vias.

[0053] In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, each group of first, second and third LEDs 502, 503 and 504 includes three (3) LEDs. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that more or less LEDs can be included a group consistent with the embodiments described herein.

[0054] The individual addressability of groups of different color LEDs may be extremely useful for a number of different automotive lighting functions. For example, such lights could be used for a combination of DRL and / or a position light with a turn signal. Additionally or alternatively, such lights could be used for a combination of a position light with a turn signal. Additionally or alternatively, such lights could be used for a combination of a stop and / or tail light with a turn signal.

[0055] For a combination of a DRL and / or position signal with a turn signal, for example, two LED colors could be used, such as Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) color box white and ECE color box amber, to generate the independent functions. For a combination of a stop and / or tail signal and a turn signal, for example, two LED colors could be used, such as ECE color box red and ECE color box amber, to generate the independent functions. In some embodiments, the two LED colors could be warm and cold white or cyan and green. In some embodiments, the two colors could be chosen from cyan, Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) White, cold white, warm white, SAE yellow / ECE amber, or ECE red. Where three LED colors are used, the three colors could be red, green and blue, although other colors are possible. In such embodiments, intermediate colors could be generated by mixing the light output of the multiple LED colors driven in parallel by the external or internal controller. Similarly, for a two color LED, the two colors could be chosen as cool white, warm white, amber or red, and intermediate colors could be generated by mixing the light output of the LEDs driven in parallel.

[0056] The multiple LEDs on each interposer / land may be separate LED packages or single, multicolor LED packages. In both cases, the LEDs can be powered independently of each other using the electrical circuitry described above with respect to FIGs. 4 and 5.

[0057] As mentioned above, the flexible foil PCB may be partly or entirely embedded in silicone, which may enable the electrical contact lines and vias to be sufficiently insulated from each other to enable formation of one or multiple circuits. In some embodiments, the LEDs do not have mouse bites. Where the LEDs do have mouse bites, the LEDs may be placed on the interposers / lands such that the mouse bites face the walls of the white box with an electrical connection scheme where at least one electrical contact line is inversed in a metal layer buried in the flexible foil PCB, connected by vias.

[0058] Although the flexible foil PCB and circuitry are described herein relative to an automotive lighting system, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the technology can equally be applied to other lighting applications where independent control of multiple colored LEDs and / or a mixed output LED color is desirable, such as a luminaire for general lighting purposes, or a strip light for automotive or other decorative lighting.

[0059] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing a lighting device. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, a thin film flexible foil PCBA may be obtained (602). The thin film flexible foil PCBA may be any of the flexible foil PCBs described above. For example, the thin film flexible foil PCBA may include at least two metal layers vertically stacked, multiple electrical contact lines, at least one of the them being disposed in each of the at least two metal layers, and at least two interposers spaced apart along a horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers. First and second LEDs may be mounted on each of the at least two interposers (604). The LEDs may be spaced apart from each other perpendicular to the horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers. The first LED may be configured to emit light having a first color when powered on, and the second LED may be configured to emit light having a second color different than the first color when powered on. The first LED and the second LED on each of the at least two interposers may be electrically coupled to at least three of the electrical contact lines (606).

[0060] In some embodiments, the mounting may include mounting multiple, separate LED packages on each interposer. In some embodiments, the mounting may include mounting a single, multi-color LED on each interposer. In some embodiments, the mounting may include mounting groups of the first LEDs and groups of the second LEDs on groups of interposers.

[0061] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing an automotive lighting system. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the method includes obtaining a lighting system (702). The lighting system may include any of the features described in the embodiments above. For example, it may include at least two metal layers vertically stacked, multiple electrical contact lines, at least one of them being disposed in each of the at least two metal layers, and at least two interposers spaced apart along a horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers. The lighting system may also include a first light-emitting diode (LED) on each of the at least two interposers, the first LED configured to emit light having a first color and a second LED on each of the at least two interposers, spaced apart from the first LED in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers, the second LED being configured to emit light having a second color different than the first color. The first LED and the second LED on each of the at least two interposers may be electrically coupled to at least three of the plurality of electrical contact lines. At least onecontroller may be placed or disposed on one of the interposers. The lighting system may be electrically and communicatively coupled to at least one power and control bus of a vehicle (702).

[0062] As would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art, based on the description herein, embodiments of the present invention can be designed in software using a hardware description language (HDL) such as, for example, Verilog or VHDL. The HDL-design can model the behavior of an electronic system, where the design can be synthesized and ultimately fabricated into a hardware device. In addition, the HDL-design can be stored in a computer product and loaded into a computer system prior to hardware manufacture

[0063] Having described the embodiments in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, given the present description, modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit of the inventive concept. Therefore, it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated and described.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A lighting device comprising: at least two metal layers vertically stacked; a plurality of electrical contact lines, a respective one of the plurality of electrical contact lines being disposed in one of the at least two metal layers; at least two interposers spaced apart along a horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers; a first light-emitting diode (LED) on each of the at least two interposers, the first LEDs configured to emit light having a first color when powered on; and a second LED on each of the at least two interposers, spaced apart from the first LED in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers, the second LEDs being configured to emit light having a second color different than the first color when powered on, the first LEDs and the second LEDs being electrically coupled to at least two of the plurality of electrical contact lines.

2. The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the at least two metal layers comprise two metal layers having at least two of the plurality of electrical contact lines each.

3. The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein the at least two metal layers comprise three metal layers.

4. The lighting device of claim 3, wherein at least two of the three metal layers comprise two electrical contact lines of the plurality of contact lines.

5. The lighting device of any one of claims 1 - 4, wherein: the at least two metal layers comprise a top layer and at least one buried layer, the top layer comprises two of the plurality of electrical contact lines, and the buried layer comprises three of the plurality of contact lines.

6. The lighting device of any one of claims 1 - 5, wherein the at least two interposers are lands in the at least two metal layers, connected by the plurality of electrical contact lines formed from the at least two metal layers, wherein the plurality of electrical contact lines have a wavy shape,and wherein a cross-over area where the plurality of electrical contact lines connect to the interposer land has a bay shape to minimize thermal stress in the cross-over area.

7. The lighting device of claim 6, wherein the wavy shape comprises a plurality of circular, elliptical, parabolic or sinusoidal quarter segments.

8. The lighting device of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the plurality of electrical contact lines form an anode and a cathode and are electrically coupled to an external power source or driver.

9. The lighting device of claim 8, wherein two of the plurality of electrical contact lines connecting the first and second LEDs are combined in one electrical contact line to form a common anode or common cathode coupled to the external power source or driver.

10. The lighting device of claim 3, wherein the at least two metal layers comprise two top first contact lines in the top layer, two buried second electrical contact lines in the buried layer, and at least one buried third electrical contact line in another buried layer of the three metal layers, and wherein the two buried second contact lines and the at least one buried third contact line are partially electrically coupled to the two top first contact lines by vias.

11. The lighting device of claim 10, wherein groups of the first LEDs and groups of the second LEDs are disposed on a group of interposers, the interposers of the group being in line distant from each other and connected by the three metal layers containing the electrical contact lines, and wherein the plurality of electrical contact lines have a wave shape in between the interposers, the LEDs of one color within the group thereby being connected in series by one of the plurality of electrical contact lines such that the groups of the first and second LEDs are individually addressable by the external power supply or driver via the electrical contact lines formed in the plurality of metal layers.

12. The lighting device of claim 11 , wherein LEDs in the groups of the first LEDs and second LEDs are connected within each of the groups by segments of one of the top first electrical contact lines, and the groups of the first LEDs and second LEDs are connected to an external power supply or driver by the two buried second electrical contact lines and the at least one buried third electric contact line.

13. The lighting device of claim 12, wherein the one of the plurality of electrical contact lines is one of the two top first contact lines.

14. The lighting device of claim 12, wherein the at least two metal layers comprise two top first contact lines in the top layer, two buried second contact lines in the buried layer, and two buried third contact lines in the other buried layer of the at least three metal layers, the other buried layer forming a bottom layer of the plurality of metal layers, and wherein the buried second contact lines and at least one of the two buried third contact lines are partially electrically coupled to the two top first contact lines by vias.

15. The lighting device of claim 14, further comprising at least one controller on at least one of the at least two interposers configured to control the first LED and the second LED on the at least one of the at least two interposers independent of one another, wherein the first and second LEDs are connected to the external power supply, and wherein the controller is controlled by an external driver to actuate the first and second LEDs or groups of the first and second LEDs independently.

16. The lighting device according to claim 15, wherein the at least one controller is disposed on a backside plane of the interposer as compared to a plane of the interposer on which the first and the second LED are positioned, the controller thereby being connected to at least one of the at least two buried third contact lines, and electrically coupled to the first and second LEDs to actuate the first and second LEDs or groups of the first and second LEDs independently.

17. The lighting device of claim 16, wherein the at least one controller is further configured to drive the first LED and the second LED in parallel to cause the first LED and the second LED to emit light having together a combined color that is an intermediate color between the first color of the first LED and the second color of the second LED.

18. The lighting device of claim 16, wherein the at least two metal layers comprise at least two of the plurality of electrical contact lines, of which at least one electrical contact line is used to communicate a control signal to the controller.

19. The lighting device of claim 16, wherein the two top first contact lines electrically couple groups of the first LEDs and groups of the second LEDs together, controlled by one controller each.

20. The lighting device of any one of claims 1-19, wherein the first LED and the second LED on each of the at least two interposers are spaced apart from one another in the direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers equidistant from an imaginary central line running through the lighting device in the horizontal direction.21 . The lighting device of any one of claims 1 -20, wherein the at least two metal layers are wave-shaped along the horizontal direction between the interposers on which the first and second LEDs are placed.

22. The lighting device of any one of claims 1-21 , wherein the first LED and the second LED on each of the at least two interposers are packaged in one multi-color LED package or separate, single-color, LED packages.

23. The lighting device of any one of claims 1-22, wherein the first color and the second color are one of cyan, Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) White, cold white, warm white, SAE yellow / ECE amber, or ECE red.

24. The lighting device of any one of claims 1-23, wherein the first color and the second color are ECE color box white and ECE color box amber.

25. The lighting device of claim 3, further comprising a third LED spaced apart from the second LED on each of the at least two interposers, the third LED being configured to emit light having a third color different from the first color and the second color when powered on, and wherein a subset of the plurality of electrical contact lines are disposed in each of the three metal layers.

26. The lighting device of claim 5, wherein each of the three metal layers comprises at least two electrical contact lines of the plurality of electrical contact lines.

27. The lighting device of claim 25, wherein the three contact lines comprise three top first contact lines in a top one of the three metal layers, two buried second contact lines in the buried layer, and at least two buried third contact lines in the other buried layer, and wherein the at least two buried first and second contact lines are electrically coupled to the three top first contact lines by vias.

28. The lighting device of claim 25, wherein the first color, the second color and the third color are red, green and blue.

29. The lighting device of claim 1 , further comprising a controller, at least four metal layers, at least one electrical contact line of the plurality of electrical contact lines being in one of the additional metal layers, the at least one electrical contact line being coupled to a controller disposed on the same interposer as the first and second LEDs, individually driving the three LEDs to produce an individual or combined light output.

30. The lighting device of claim 1 or 3, wherein the at least two metal layers and the electrical contact lines within each of the at least two metal layers are isolated from each other by a polymer.31 . The lighting device of any one of claims 1-30, where the at least two metal layers are comprised in a flexible foil PCB, the flexible foil PCB comprising interposers as LED placement areas and wavy shaped areas connecting the interposers, whereby the flexible foil PCB base material electrically isolates the plurality of electrical connection lines and electrical vias establishing connections between the electrical connection lines from each other, to form one or multiple circuits32. The lighting device of claim 31 , wherein: at least light emitting areas of the first and second LEDs are in direct contact with a silicone matrix.New claim: The lighting device of the previous claim wherein: the silicone matrix forms a mixing box, the at least the light emitting area of the first and second LEDs are embedded in a transparent silicone matrix in three directions predominantly limited by a reflecting silicone, the reflecting silicone reflecting light emitted by the LEDs back into the mixing box, wherein the light can leave the mixing box in a fourth direction that contains a top layer on the transparent silicone, wherein the top layer contains particles to scatter the light emitted by the first and second LEDs, such that the light emitted by the first and second LEDs, when individually powered on, is homogenous over the complete light emitting area for both colors of the first and second LEDs present on the plurality of metal layers.

33. The lighting device according claim 31 , where the flexible foil PCB as a whole is embedded in Silicone.

34. The lighting device of claim 25, wherein the first LED, the second LED and the third LED are one of separate first, second and third LED packages or a single, multi-color, LED package.

35. A lighting system comprising: at least two metal layers vertically stacked; a plurality of electrical contact lines, a respective one of the plurality of electrical contact lines being disposed in one of the at least two metal layers; at least two interposers spaced apart along a horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers; a first light-emitting diode (LED) on each of the at least two interposers, the first LEDs configured to emit light having a first color when powered on; and a second LED on each of the at least two interposers, spaced apart from the first LED in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers, the second LEDs being configured to emit light having a second color different than the first color when powered on, the first LEDs and the second LEDs being electrically coupled to at least two of the plurality of electrical contact lines; a driver configured to provide a drive current to the first LED and the second LED to power them on; and a controller configured to control the driver to independently control the first LED and the second LED.

36. The lighting system of claim 35, wherein: the first LEDs are electrically coupled together in a first series string and are configured to emit light having a first color when powered on, the second LEDs are electrically coupled together in a second series string and are configured to emit light having a second color when powered on, the first series string and the second series string are electrically coupled in parallel with each other, and the controller is further configured to independently control the first and second series string such that the first series string and the second series string can be turned on or off independently of one another.

37. The lighting system of claim 36, wherein the controller is further configured to power on or off sub-groups of LEDs within the first and second series string independently of one another.

38. The lighting system of claim 35, where at least one controller is integrated in the lighting system, and placed on an interposer together with the first and second LEDs to control one of the first or second LED on one interposer, or, simultaneously, multiple LEDs of one color on neighboring interposers.

39. The lighting system of claim 38, wherein the at least one controller is disposed on an interposer together with the first and second LEDs on an opposite backside of said interposer compared to the first and second LEDs.

40. The lighting system of claim 35, wherein the lighting system is an automotive lighting system.41 . The lighting system of claim 35, wherein the first color is ECE color box white and the second color is ECE color box amber.

42. The lighting system of claim 41 , wherein the controller is configured to control at least one of the first LED and the second LED as a stop light, a tail signal and / or a turn signal.

43. The lighting system of claim 42, wherein the controller is configured to control at least one of the first LED and the second LED as daytime running lights (DRLs), a position signal and / or a turn signal.

44. The lighting system of claim 35, wherein the lighting system is a strip light for automotive decorative lighting.

45. The lighting system of claim 35, wherein the lighting system is a general illumination system.

46. A method of manufacturing a lighting device comprising: obtaining a thin film flexible foil printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) comprising:at least two metal layers vertically stacked, a plurality of electrical contact lines, a respective one of the plurality of electrical contact lines being disposed in one of the at least two metal layers, and at least two interposers spaced apart along a horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers’ mounting a first light-emitting diode (LED) and a second LED on each of the at least two interposers and spaced apart from each other perpendicular to the horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers, the first LED configured to emit light having a first color when powered on and the second LED configured to emit light having a second color different than the first color when powered on; and electrically coupling the first LEDs and the second LEDs to at least two of the plurality of electrical contact lines.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the mounting the first LED and second LED comprises one of mounting a first LED package and a second LED package on each of the at least two interposers or mounting a single, multi-color LED package on each of the at least two interposers.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein the mounting the first LED and second LED comprises mounting groups of the first LEDs and groups of the second LEDs on groups of interposers.

49. A method of manufacturing an automotive lighting system comprising: obtaining a lighting system comprising: at least two metal layers vertically stacked, a plurality of electrical contact lines, a respective one of the plurality of electrical contact lines being disposed in one of the at least two metal layers, at least two interposers spaced apart along a horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers; a first light-emitting diode (LED) on each of the at least two interposers, the first LEDs configured to emit light having a first color when powered on, a second LED on each of the at least two interposers, spaced apart from the first LED in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction of the at least two metal layers, the second LEDs being configured to emit light having a second color different than the first color when powered on, the first LEDs and the second LEDs being electrically coupled to at least two of the plurality of electrical contact lines, and at least one controller placed on at least one of the interposers; andelectrically and communicatively coupling the lighting system to at least one power and control bus of a vehicle.

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