Active control of light emitting diodes and light emitting diode displays

Abstract

There continues to be a need for improved LED array devices having a small pixel pitch while overcoming the limitations associated with conventional devices and production methods.SOLUTION: Active control of LEDs, LED packages, and associated LED displays by pulse width modulation (PWM) is disclosed. The LEDs may be electrically activated and deactivated multiple times within each PWM period. Active electrical elements incorporated within one or more LED packages of an LED display may be able to segment the duty cycle within each LED package. The active electrical element may also be capable of receiving a reset signal from the data stream to either initiate a reset action or to pass the reset signal along to other active electrical elements of the display.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 26A

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Related Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 815,101, filed March 11, 2020, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 543,009, filed August 16, 2019, and U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 542,923, filed August 16, 2019, both of which are continuations-in-part of U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 437,878, filed June 11, 2019. U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 437,878 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 369,003, filed March 29, 2019. This application also claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 381,116, filed April 11, 2019, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 369,003, filed March 29, 2019.

[0002]

[0002] All of the above-listed applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

[0002] The present invention relates to solid state lighting devices, including light emitting diode devices and light emitting diode displays. [Background technology]

[0003]

[0003] Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are solid-state devices that convert electrical energy into light and generally include one or more active layers of semiconductor material (or active region) disposed between oppositely doped n-type and p-type layers. When a bias is applied across the doped layers, holes and electrons are injected into the active layer(s), where they recombine to generate emission, such as visible or ultraviolet emission. LED chips typically include an active region that may be fabricated from epitaxial layers of, for example, silicon carbide, gallium nitride, aluminum gallium nitride, indium nitride, gallium phosphide, aluminum nitride, gallium arsenide-based materials, and / or from organic semiconductor materials.

[0004]

[0004] LEDs have been widely adopted in a variety of lighting environments for backlighting liquid crystal display (LCD) systems (e.g., as a replacement for cold cathode fluorescent tubes) and for direct-view LED displays. Applications utilizing LED arrays include vehicle headlamps, roadway lighting, luminaires, and a variety of indoor, outdoor, and professional environments. Desirable properties of LED devices include high luminous efficacy, long life, and a wide color gamut.

[0005]

[0005] Conventional LCD systems require polarizers and color filters (e.g., red, green, and blue), which inherently reduce light utilization efficiency. Direct-view LED displays, which utilize self-emitting LEDs and eliminate the need for backlighting, polarizers, and color filters, offer increased light utilization efficiency.

[0006]

[0006] Large, multicolor, direct-view LED displays (including full-color LED video screens) typically include many individual LED panels, packages, and / or components that provide an image resolution determined by the distance between adjacent pixels, or "pixel pitch." Direct-view LED displays include tri-color displays with arrayed red, green, and blue (RGB) LEDs, and bi-color displays with arrayed red and green (RG) LEDs. Other colors or color combinations may also be used. Large displays intended to be viewed from a distance (e.g., digital signage and stadium displays) Typically, LED displays have a relatively large pixel pitch and usually include separate LED arrays with multicolor (e.g., red, green, and blue) LEDs that may be independently operated to form what appears to a viewer to be a full-color pixel. Medium-sized displays with relatively smaller viewing distances require a smaller pixel pitch (e.g., 3 mm or less) and may include panels in which the arrayed red, green, and blue LED components are mounted on a single electronic device mounted on a driver printed circuit board that controls the LEDs. The driver printed circuit board is typically densely populated with electronic devices, including capacitors, field-effect transistors (FETs), decoders, microcontrollers, and the like, for driving the display's pixels. As pixel pitch continues to decrease for high-resolution displays, the density of such electronic devices becomes greater, corresponding to the increased number of pixels in a given panel area. This tends to add greater complexity and cost to LED panels for display applications, as well as increased thermal congestion in areas where the driver electronics are more closely spaced. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The art continues to seek improved LED array devices having small pixel pitches while overcoming the limitations associated with conventional devices and production methods. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008]

[0008] This disclosure relates to light emitting diodes (LEDs), LED packages, and related LED displays, and more particularly to active control of LEDs within an LED display. An LED display may include rows and columns of LED diodes forming an array of LED pixels. A particular LED pixel may contain LEDs of the same color or multiple colors. An LED pixel may include a collection of LED chips, with an exemplary LED pixel including a red LED chip, a green LED chip, and a blue LED chip. In certain embodiments, an LED package may include multiple LED chips forming at least one LED pixel, and multiple such LED packages may be arranged to form an array of LED pixels for an LED display. Each LED package may include active electrical elements configured to receive control signals and actively maintain an operating state, such as a brightness or gray level or color selection signal, for the LED chips of the LED package while other LED packages are addressed. In certain embodiments, the active electrical elements may include active circuitry including one or more of a driver device, a signal conditioning or conversion device, a memory device, a decoder device, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device, a thermal management device, and a detection device, among others. In this regard, each LED pixel of an LED display may be configured for operation using active matrix addressing. The active electrical elements may be configured to receive one or more of an analog control signal, a coded analog control signal, a digital control signal, and a coded digital control signal. A display panel is disclosed that includes an array of such LED pixels on a first face of the panel and control circuitry on a back side of the panel that is configured to communicate with each active electrical element of the LED pixels.

[0009] In one aspect, an LED package comprises at least one LED and an active electrical element electrically coupled to the at least one LED, the active electrical element configured to receive at least one data packet from a data stream, the at least one data packet including a command code that at least partially identifies at least one action to be performed, and the active electrical element configured to perform the at least one action in response to the command code. In a particular embodiment, the at least one action includes transmitting the at least one data packet to a port of the LED package. In a particular embodiment, at least The one action includes driving at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes driving at least one LED without transmitting at least one data packet. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes transmitting at least one data packet without performing any other action internal to the LED package. In certain embodiments, the transmitting at least one data packet without performing any other action internal to the LED package is based at least in part on the content of one or more other data packets previously received by the LED package. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes performing an internal action within the LED package and transmitting at least one data packet. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes performing an internal action within the LED package without transmitting at least one data packet. In certain embodiments, the at least one data packet includes color selection data and brightness level data for the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the at least one data packet includes information configured to provide a data handshake with another device. In certain embodiments, the data stream includes an empty transmission period between successive data packets configured to control the communication rate of the LED package, signal a reset or restart condition, or signal a next frame condition. In certain embodiments, multiple data transmission periods of a data stream are included. The data packets have the same data length. In certain embodiments, the data packets of the data stream have various data lengths. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive at least one data packet from the control element. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive at least one data packet after the at least one data packet has been retransmitted by another LED package along the communication bus line. In certain embodiments, the at least one data packet includes a first data packet and a subsequent data packet disposed after the first data packet in the data stream, the first data packet and the subsequent data packet being configured to provide data to the active electrical element. In certain embodiments, the subsequent data packet includes at least one of color selection data, brightness level data, setup data, option selection data, or calibration data. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes replacing the at least one data packet with a talkback data packet in the data stream emanating from the LED package. In certain embodiments, the LED package further includes a submount, the at least one LED and the active electrical element being formed on the submount. In certain embodiments, the LED package further comprises at least one bidirectional communication port, and the active electrical element is configured to assign the at least one bidirectional communication port as one of an input port or an output port in response to a signal received by the LED package. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED forms a pixel in an LED display. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element comprises a finite state machine configured to change between one or more of a power-up or reset state, a communication port setup state, or one or more command states.

[0010] In another aspect, an LED package includes at least one LED and an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element configured to receive data from a data stream and incorporate additional data into the data stream. In certain embodiments, the data includes at least one data packet, the additional data includes a talkback data packet, and the active electrical element configured to replace the at least one data packet with the talkback data packet in the data stream emanating from the LED package. In certain embodiments, The talkback data packet includes at least one of an operating temperature, an operating current, or an operating state of the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the talkback data packet includes data parity information configured to provide data validation of the data stream. In certain embodiments, the data includes at least one data packet, the at least one data packet including a command code identifying at least one action to be performed by the active electrical element. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes providing additional data to the data stream. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes performing an internal action within the LED package and transmitting data. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes performing an internal action within the LED package without transmitting the at least one data packet. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes transmitting the at least one data packet without performing any other action within the LED package. In certain embodiments, transmitting the at least one data packet without performing any other action within the LED package is based at least in part on one or more other data packets previously received by the LED package. In certain embodiments, the at least one data packet includes a first data packet and a subsequent data packet disposed after the first data packet in the data stream, the first data packet and the subsequent data packet configured to provide data to an active electrical element. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive input data from a control element. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive data from another LED package. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED forms a pixel in an LED display.

[0011] In another aspect, an LED package includes at least one LED and at least one bidirectional communication port. In certain embodiments, the LED package further includes an active electrical element configured to assign a state of the at least one bidirectional communication port as either an input port or an output port. In certain embodiments, the LED package further includes at least two bidirectional communication ports, and the active electrical element is configured to assign an input port and an output port from the at least two bidirectional communication ports in response to an input signal received by the LED package. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to assign an input port and an output port in response to an input signal received by at least one of the at least two bidirectional communication ports. In certain embodiments, the input port is configured to receive at least one data packet from a data stream, the at least one data packet including a command code that at least partially identifies at least one action to be performed by the active electrical element. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes performing an internal action within the LED package and transmitting at least one data packet. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes performing an internal action within the LED package without transmitting the at least one data packet. In certain embodiments, the at least one action includes transmitting the at least one data packet without performing any other action within the LED package. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED forms a pixel in an LED display.

[0012]

[0012] An LED package configured to receive a data stream including a plurality of data packets is disclosed. Each data packet may include an identifier that enables each LED package in the array receiving the data packet to perform one or more actions based on the identifier or set of identifiers. A talkback data packet, a data packet for all LED packages receiving the data stream, may be included. Various additional data packets are disclosed, including packets and subsequent data packets. An LED package having selectively assignable communication ports is also disclosed.

[0013]

[0013] In one aspect, the LED package comprises at least one LED and an active electrical element comprising a volatile memory element, the active electrical element configured to change a drive condition of the at least one LED according to a temporarily stored operating state. In a specific embodiment, the at least one LED comprises a plurality of LEDs, the active electrical element configured to independently change a drive condition of each LED of the plurality of LEDs based on a plurality of operating states. The active electrical element may comprise a non-volatile memory element. The active electrical element may comprise a decoder element configured to receive and convert an input signal from an external source. In a specific embodiment, the at least one LED comprises a plurality of LEDs, the active electrical element further comprises a driver element configured to drive the plurality of LEDs according to a plurality of operating states. The driver element may comprise at least one of a source driver or a sink driver. The driver element may comprise an active cascode configuration. The driver element may comprise a Howland current pump. The Howland current pump adjusts the current of the driver element. The active electrical element may further comprise a voltage follower connected to the pressure-input. In certain embodiments, the driver element is configured to drive the at least one LED by pulse width modulation. In certain embodiments, the LED package may further comprise a thermal management element configured to monitor an operating temperature of the LED package. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises at least one of a decoder element, a driver element, and a signal conditioning element. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises a detector signal conditioning element configured to detect light incident on the LED package. In certain embodiments, the photodiode is configured to input a signal to the detector signal conditioning element based on the light incident. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED is configured to input a signal to the detector signal conditioning element based on the light incident. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises a sample and hold circuit. The active electrical element may further comprise a serial communication element. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to be addressed, and the operational state of the at least one LED is changed in a manner dependent on information stored in the local memory. The information may include an address. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises a programmable active electrical element. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to change a drive condition of the at least one LED according to the temporarily stored operational state and the non-temporary operational state.

[0014] In another aspect, an LED package includes a light-transmitting submount having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; at least one LED mounted on the first surface, the second surface being a primary light-emitting surface of the LED package; and an active electrical element mounted on the first surface. In certain embodiments, the light-emitting surface of the at least one LED is mounted on the light-transmitting submount. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED includes a plurality of LEDs, the plurality of LEDs including a red LED chip, a blue LED chip, and a green LED chip. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED includes a plurality of LEDs, the plurality of LEDs including an active LED structure divided into a plurality of active LED structure portions, each active LED structure portion being independently addressable. The LED package may further include an encapsulation layer surrounding an outer periphery of the at least one LED. The encapsulation layer may surround an outer periphery of the active electrical element. In certain embodiments, the encapsulation layer includes a black material. In certain embodiments, the encapsulation layer covers at least a portion of a bottom surface of the at least one LED. The LED package may further include a plurality of conductive traces on the bottom surface of the encapsulation layer, and a particular conductive trace of the plurality of conductive traces. The conductive trace is electrically connected to at least one LED. The LED package may include an additional encapsulation layer on a bottom surface of the plurality of conductive traces and a plurality of package bond pads on a bottom surface of the additional encapsulation layer, the plurality of package bond pads being electrically connected to at least some of the plurality of conductive traces. In certain embodiments, a portion of a particular conductive trace of the plurality of conductive traces forms at least one package bond pad. The LED package may further include an insulating material on a bottom surface of the plurality of conductive traces, the portion of the plurality of conductive traces not covered by the insulating material forming the at least one package bond pad. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED and the active electrical element are mounted along the same horizontal surface of the LED package. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED is mounted along a first horizontal surface of the LED package, and the active electrical element is mounted along a second horizontal surface of the LED package different from the first horizontal surface. The LED package may further include an encapsulation layer disposed between the first horizontal surface and the second horizontal surface. The LED package may further include a plurality of conductive traces disposed between the at least one LED and the active electrical element. In certain embodiments, the active electrical components are embedded in the additional submount.In certain embodiments, the active electrical components are mounted on the additional submount.

[0015] In another aspect, a method includes mounting at least one LED and an active electrical component on a submount; forming an electrical connector on the at least one LED and the active electrical chip; applying an encapsulation layer over the at least one LED, the active electrical component, and the electrical connector; and planarizing the encapsulation layer to form an exposed surface of the electrical connector. In certain embodiments, the method further includes forming at least one conductive trace on the encapsulation layer that is electrically connected to the exposed surface of the electrical connector. In certain embodiments, the at least one conductive trace includes a plurality of conductive traces, and the method further includes forming an insulating material over portions of the plurality of conductive traces, wherein portions of the plurality of conductive traces not covered by the insulating material form a plurality of package bond pads. In certain embodiments, the method further includes forming an additional electrical connector on the at least one conductive trace or on the at least one electrical connector. In certain embodiments, the method further includes applying an additional encapsulation layer over the at least one conductive trace and the additional electrical connector. In certain embodiments, the method further includes planarizing the additional encapsulation layer to form an exposed surface of the additional electrical connector. In certain embodiments, the method further includes forming a plurality of package bond pads on a bottom surface of the additional encapsulation layer electrically connected to the exposed surface of the additional electrical connector. In certain embodiments, the method further includes forming an insulating material over portions of the plurality of package bond pads. In certain embodiments, the method further includes forming the plurality of additional encapsulation layers and at least one additional conductive trace before forming the plurality of package bond pads.

[0016] In another aspect, an LED package comprises at least one LED chip and an active electrical element comprising a signal conditioning element, a memory element, and a driver element. In certain embodiments, the signal conditioning element is electrically connected between the memory element and the driver element. In certain embodiments, the signal conditioning element is electrically connected between an input signal line and the memory element. In certain embodiments, the signal conditioning element is configured to convert an analog signal. In certain embodiments, the signal conditioning element is configured to convert a digital signal. In certain embodiments, the signal conditioning element is configured to provide gamma correction or apply another non-linear transfer function. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises an electrostatic discharge element. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises a thermal management element. The driver element comprises a source driver. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED chip comprises a red LED chip, a blue LED chip, and a green LED chip, and the active electrical element further comprises a first contact pad configured to receive a first power input for the red LED chip and a second contact pad configured to receive a second power input for the blue LED chip and the green LED chip. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive a device select signal from an external source. In certain embodiments, the device select signal includes at least one of a column select signal and a row select signal from the external source. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises a detector element. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED chip comprises a first LED chip, a second LED chip, and a third LED chip, and the active electrical element further comprises separate contact pads for each of the column select signal, a brightness level signal for the first LED chip, a brightness level signal for the second LED chip, and a brightness level signal for the third LED chip. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED chip comprises a first LED chip, a second LED chip, and a third LED chip, and the active electrical element is configured to control four LED selection conditions, including selection of the first LED chip, selection of the second LED chip, selection of the third LED chip, and selection of none of the first LED chip, the second LED chip, and the third LED chip. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises two contact pads configured to receive signals for the four LED selection conditions. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED chip comprises the first LED chip, the second LED chip, and the third LED chip, and the active electrical element further comprises separate contact pads for each of a column selection signal for the first LED chip, a column selection signal for the second LED chip, and a column selection signal for the third LED chip.In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises at least one contact pad configured to receive an encoded analog signal. In certain embodiments, the encoded analog signal includes at least one of a multi-level logic signal, a variable frequency signal, a variable phase signal, or a variable amplitude signal. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises a decoder element configured to receive and convert the encoded analog signal. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises at least one contact pad configured to receive an encoded digital signal. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises a serial communication element configured to receive a digital input signal. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED chip comprises a first LED chip, a second LED chip, and a third LED chip, and the active electrical element further comprises at least one contact pad configured to receive a digital input signal corresponding to four LED selection conditions, including selection of the first LED chip, selection of the second LED chip, selection of the third LED chip, and selection of none of the first LED chip, the second LED chip, and the third LED chip. In certain embodiments, the driver element comprises a pulse-width modulated driver element configured to independently drive at least one LED chip based on a digital input signal. In certain embodiments, the memory element comprises a volatile memory element configured to update and store an operating state of the at least one LED chip. In certain embodiments, the memory element comprises a non-volatile memory element configured to store a default position setting for the LED package.

[0017] In another aspect, an LED package includes a plurality of LED chips forming a plurality of LED pixels and an active electrical element having five or fewer input electrical connections, the active electrical element configured to independently change a drive condition of each LED chip of the plurality of LED chips according to an input signal. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element has four or fewer input electrical connections. In certain embodiments, the input electrical connections include a supply voltage, ground, an encoded device select signal, and a brightness level signal. Certain embodiments In the LED display device, the input electrical connections include a supply voltage, ground, a digital signal, and a clock signal. In certain embodiments, the input electrical connections include a first supply voltage, a second supply voltage, ground, and a digital signal. In certain embodiments, the first supply voltage is configured to drive one or more red LED chips of the plurality of LED chips, and the second supply voltage is configured to drive one or more blue and green LED chips of the plurality of LED chips. In certain embodiments, the input signal includes an asynchronous data signal. In certain embodiments, the input electrical connections include a first supply voltage, a second supply voltage, ground, a brightness level signal, and an encoded device select signal. In certain embodiments, each LED pixel of the plurality of LED pixels includes at least one of a red LED chip, a green LED chip, and a blue LED chip.

[0018] In another aspect, an LED package comprises at least one LED chip and an active electrical element comprising a serial communication element configured for digital input or output and a driver element configured to independently change the drive conditions of the at least one LED chip. In certain embodiments, the driver element comprises a pulse-width modulation driver element configured to independently drive the at least one LED chip based on a digital input signal. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED chip comprises a first LED chip, a second LED chip, and a third LED chip, and the active electrical element further comprises one or more digital-to-analog converters configured to provide independent drive signals to the first LED chip, the second LED chip, and the third LED chip. In certain embodiments, the digital input or output signal comprises a self-clocking signal, and the active electrical element further comprises a decoder element configured to encode or decode the self-clocking signal. In certain embodiments, the self-clocking signal comprises at least one of an 8b / 10b code, a Manchester code, a phase code, a pulse-counting code, an isochronous signal, or a non-isochronous signal. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to transmit or receive at least a subset of signals compatible with the I2C protocol. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to transmit or receive differential signals. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is further configured to transmit or receive low-voltage differential signals. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is further configured to transmit or receive current-mode logic.

[0019] In another aspect, an LED package comprises at least one LED and an active electrical element configured to change a drive condition of the at least one LED according to an input signal received from an external source, the active electrical element being further configured to monitor, store, and output to the external source one or more operating conditions of the LED package. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element comprises a thermal management element configured to at least one of monitor and report an operating temperature of the LED package. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element comprises a detector element configured to at least one of monitor and report an operating voltage or current of the at least one LED.

[0020] In another aspect, a display panel for a video display comprises a plurality of LED packages forming an array on a front surface of the display panel, each LED package of the plurality of LED packages including an LED pixel and active electrical elements; and an integrated circuit registered to the display panel and configured to receive input signals for the plurality of LED packages, the active electrical elements of each LED package configured to independently change drive conditions of the LED pixels in each LED package in response to the input signals from the integrated circuit. In certain embodiments, the integrated circuit comprises an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In certain embodiments, the integrated circuit The display panel may further include an input signal connector registered to the display panel, the input signal connector comprising at least one of a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) connector, a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI®) connector, a DisplayPort connector, or a HUB75 interface. In certain embodiments, the display panel is configured to receive a first power supply line having a voltage in a range of about 3 volts to about 3.3 volts. In certain embodiments, the display panel is configured to receive a second power supply line having a voltage in a range of about 1.8 volts to about 2.4 volts. The display panel may further include a decoder element registered to the display panel, the decoder element configured to receive a control signal from the integrated circuit and route the control signal to a plurality of control lines for the plurality of LED packages. The display panel may further include a digital-to-analog converter registered to the display panel, the digital-to-analog converter configured to convert data to an analog signal. In certain embodiments, the digital-to-analog converter is configured to transmit the control signal along a single control line of the plurality of control lines. In certain embodiments, the single control line is electrically connected to at least two rows of LED packages of the plurality of LED packages. In certain embodiments, particular LED packages of the at least two rows of LED packages are configured to respond separately to control signals from the single control line based on a positioning configuration of the particular LED package. In certain embodiments, the positioning configuration includes a pre-defined positioning configuration. In certain embodiments, the positioning configuration is determined and stored in the active electrical elements of the particular LED package after installation. In certain embodiments, the active electrical elements of each LED package include a decoder element, a memory element, and a driver element. In certain embodiments, the display system includes multiple display panels. In certain embodiments, the integrated circuit is disposed on a back surface of the display panel.The display panel may further include another plurality of LED packages forming another array on a back surface of the display panel. In certain embodiments, the integrated circuit includes a control element including at least one serial communications interface. In certain embodiments, the control element is configured to communicate directly with the plurality of LED packages. In certain embodiments, the input electrical connections to the active electrical elements of each LED package are arranged along the same plane of the display panel.

[0021] The data signals transmitted to the active electrical elements may include compressed data codes that are subsequently expanded, as well as one or more of transfer function, gamma correction, and color depth data. Active electrical elements are disclosed that are configured to provide both forward and reverse bias conditions to the LED for detection. Such adverse operating conditions may be implemented as part of a self-test routine for the LED package. Active electrical elements as disclosed herein may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). LED packages are also disclosed that may self-configure based on the manner in which various input or output lines are connected.

[0022] In one aspect, an LED package includes at least one LED and an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element configured to receive a data value and transform the data value according to a transfer function. In certain embodiments, the transfer function is a linear function. In certain embodiments, the transfer function is a nonlinear function. In certain embodiments, the transfer function includes one or more subsets of transfer function coefficients for the active electrical element to interpolate. In certain embodiments, the transfer function includes a piecewise transfer function. In certain embodiments, the data value includes a compressed data code received by the active electrical element, the active electrical element transforming the compressed data code. The data code is configured to convert the data code into an expanded data code. In certain embodiments, the expanded data code includes a brightness level for at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the expanded data code includes a higher dynamic range than the compressed data code. In certain embodiments, the conversion of the compressed data code into an expanded data code occurs as a result of a power law equation for gamma correction. In certain embodiments, the at least one LED comprises two or more adjacent LED pixels, and the expanded data code is determined based on expected data redundancy between neighboring ones of the two or more adjacent LED pixels. In certain embodiments, the data values ​​are received from multiple sources. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive at least one of transfer function parameters and options at any of a plurality of connection ports. In certain embodiments, the plurality of connection ports include a plurality of polarity-independent connection ports. In certain embodiments, the transfer function is applied to indicate a temperature measurement of the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the transfer function is applied to indicate a brightness output of the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element comprises an analog-to-digital converter, and the transfer function is applied to an output of the analog-to-digital converter. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element comprises a pulse-width modulation controller, and the transfer function is applied to direct an output of the pulse-width modulation controller. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element comprises a digital-to-analog converter, and the transfer function is applied to direct an output of the digital-to-analog converter. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to drive at least one LED and switch between forward and reverse bias states for the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive selectable color depth data. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element comprises at least two bidirectional communication ports.In certain embodiments, the LED package further comprises a light-transmitting submount including a first surface and a second surface facing opposite the first surface, wherein the at least one LED and active electrical element are mounted on the first surface and the second surface is the primary light-emitting surface of the LED package.

[0023] In another aspect, an LED package includes at least one LED and an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element configured to drive the at least one LED and switch between a forward bias state and a reverse bias state for the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further includes a level sensor configured to provide an error signal while the at least one LED is in a reverse bias state. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further includes an analog-to-digital converter configured to provide a reverse leakage measurement while the at least one LED is in a reverse bias state. In certain embodiments, the analog-to-digital converter includes at least one of an analog filter circuit and a digital filter circuit. In certain embodiments, the analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect a voltage related to an operating condition of the at least one LED while the at least one LED is in a reverse bias state. In certain embodiments, the analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect a voltage related to an operating condition of the at least one LED while the at least one LED is in a forward bias state. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to adjust a drive signal for the at least one LED based on a voltage detected while the at least one LED is in a forward bias state. In certain embodiments, the drive signal includes a pulse-width modulated signal, and the active electrical element is configured to adjust a pulse-width modulated duty cycle of the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element includes a resistor network that provides a predetermined current limit to the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element includes a current source that provides an adjustable current to the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element includes an inverter configured to provide a reverse bias condition. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is in communication with another control element and controls another In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to respond to commands from a control element. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive data values ​​and convert the data values ​​according to a transfer function. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive selectable color depth data. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element comprises at least two bidirectional communication ports. In certain embodiments, the LED package further comprises an optically transmissive submount including a first surface and a second surface facing opposite the first surface, wherein the at least one LED and the active electrical element are mounted on the first surface and the second surface is a primary light-emitting surface of the LED package.

[0024] In another aspect, an LED package comprises at least one LED and an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element comprising at least one analog-to-digital converter. In certain embodiments, the at least one analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect a voltage associated with a reverse leakage measurement of the at least one LED while the at least one LED is in a reverse bias state. In certain embodiments, the at least one analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect a voltage associated with a forward voltage measurement for the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the at least one analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect an electrical short condition of the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the at least one analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect an electrical open condition of the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to adjust a pulse width modulation duty cycle of the at least one LED based on a voltage level detected by the at least one analog-to-digital converter. In certain embodiments, the at least one analog-to-digital converter is configured to transmit measurement data from the at least one LED to the active electrical element for serial output. In certain embodiments, the at least one ADC is configured to provide at least one of a reverse leakage measurement and a forward voltage measurement of the plurality of LEDs. In certain embodiments, the at least one ADC is configured to provide a temperature measurement by measuring a voltage provided by a thermal sensor. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to drive the at least one LED and switch between a forward bias state and a reverse bias state for the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive data values ​​and convert the data values ​​according to a transfer function. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive selectable color depth data. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further comprises at least two bidirectional communication ports.In certain embodiments, the LED package further comprises a light-transmitting submount including a first surface and a second surface facing opposite the first surface, wherein the at least one LED and active electrical element are mounted on the first surface and the second surface is the primary light-emitting surface of the LED package.

[0025]

[0025] In another aspect, an LED package comprises at least one LED and an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element configured to receive selectable color depth data. In certain embodiments, the selectable color depth data is within a range including 1-bit color depth to 100-bit color depth. In certain embodiments, the selectable color depth data is selectable from any one of 24-bit, 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit color depth. In certain embodiments, the specific bit depth is achieved by selecting the next higher bit depth and zero-padding some least significant bits for the difference. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to receive a data value and convert the data value according to a transfer function. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to drive the at least one LED and switch between a forward bias state and a reverse bias state for the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to select at least two In certain embodiments, the LED package further comprises an optically transmissive submount including a first surface and a second surface facing opposite the first surface, wherein the at least one LED and active electrical element are mounted on the first surface and the second surface is a primary light-emitting surface of the LED package.

[0026] In another aspect, an LED package includes at least one LED and an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element determining a pass or fail condition for the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to execute a self-test routine that provides at least one output signal indicative of at least one of the following: a pass or fail condition; a forward voltage requirement for the at least one LED; a reverse leakage requirement for the at least one LED; and a temperature rating for the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to execute the self-test routine upon power-on. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is configured to execute the self-test routine when directly connected to a power source. In certain embodiments, the at least one output signal is communicated to an electrical port. In certain embodiments, the at least one output signal is communicated as a light signal by the at least one LED. In certain embodiments, the light signal includes blinking the at least one LED according to one or more of a predetermined color, duration, and number. In certain embodiments, the light signal is configured to provide a high-speed communication followed by a low-speed communication, where only the low-speed communication includes a human-readable code. In certain embodiments, the self-test routine is configured to provide a time delay before the low-speed communication so that the self-test routine can be interrupted before transmitting the low-speed communication.

[0027]

[0027] In another aspect, an LED package includes at least one LED, an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, and a plurality of polarity-independent connection ports connected to the active electrical element. In certain embodiments, each of the plurality of polarity-independent inputs can be connected to one of a supply voltage input, a ground input, a communication input, and a communication output. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further includes an active switching network connected to the plurality of polarity-independent connection ports. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element further includes at least two bidirectional communication ports connected to the active switching network. In certain embodiments, the plurality of polarity-independent connection ports are package bond pads of the LED package.

[0028] This disclosure relates to active control of LEDs, LED packages, and related LED displays via pulse-width modulation (PWM). In certain embodiments, the effective PWM frequency for an LED is increased by segmenting the duty cycle at which the LED is electrically activated within each PWM period. Segmenting the duty cycle within a PWM period may be achieved by transforming or reordering the sequence in which a comparator outputs control signals to a driver that operates the LED. In this manner, the duty cycle within each PWM period may be segmented over a series of pulses that electrically activate and deactivate each LED multiple times within each PWM period, rather than continuously holding the LED in an electrically activated state for the duration of the duty cycle. In certain embodiments, active electrical elements incorporated within one or more LED packages of an LED display may segment the duty cycle for one or more LEDs. In certain embodiments, a reset signal may be received from a data stream to either initiate a reset action or pass the reset signal along to other active electrical elements of the display. An active electrical element is disclosed.

[0029] In one aspect, a method for controlling an LED device includes providing a PWM signal to one or more LED chips, the PWM signal including a PWM period and a PWM duty cycle corresponding to a portion of the PWM period during which the one or more LED chips are electrically activated, and partitioning the PWM duty cycle such that the one or more LED chips are electrically activated and electrically deactivated multiple times within the PWM period. In certain embodiments, the method further includes selectively partitioning the PWM duty cycle such that the one or more LED chips can receive either a partitioned duty cycle or a continuous duty cycle. In certain embodiments, the method further includes converting a counter signal into a non-numerically ordered counter sequence for the PWM period. In certain embodiments, the method The method further includes comparing a command signal for one or more LED chips with the non-numerically ordered counter sequence and providing a control signal for the one or more LED chips for a PWM period. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence counts a total number of values ​​within a PWM period corresponding to a bit depth of the command signal. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by bit-reversal of the counter signal. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by partial bit-reversal of the counter signal. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by swapping areas of bits corresponding to the counter signal. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 8 segments within a PWM period. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 16 segments within a PWM period. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 32 segments within a PWM period. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 64 segments within a PWM period. In certain embodiments, the active electrical elements of the LED device are configured to initiate a reset command upon receiving the reset signal.

[0030] In another aspect, an LED package includes at least one LED chip and an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED chip, the active electrical element configured to: provide a PWM signal to the at least one LED chip, the PWM signal including a PWM period and a PWM duty cycle, the PWM duty cycle corresponding to a portion of the PWM period during which the at least one LED chip is electrically activated; and segment the PWM duty cycle such that the at least one LED chip is electrically activated and electrically deactivated multiple times within the PWM period. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is further configured to be selectable between the segmented PWM duty cycle and a continuous PWM duty cycle for the at least one LED chip. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element includes a signal conditioning element configured to convert a command signal received from a data stream. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element includes a counter conversion device configured to convert a counter signal into a non-numerically ordered counter sequence for the PWM period. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by bit-reversal of the counter signal. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by partial bit reversal of the counter signal. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by swapping areas of corresponding bits of the counter signal. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by The non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 8 segments within the PWM period. In a particular embodiment, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 16 segments within the PWM period. In a particular embodiment, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 32 segments within the PWM period. In a particular embodiment, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 64 segments within the PWM period. In a particular embodiment, the non-numerically ordered counter sequence counts a total number of values ​​within the PWM period corresponding to the bit depth of the command signal. In a particular embodiment, the active electrical element includes a comparator device configured to compare a command signal from the data stream with the non-numerically ordered counter sequence to provide a control signal for the at least one LED chip. In a particular embodiment, the active electrical element includes a driver configured to receive the control signal and drive the at least one LED chip. In a particular embodiment, the active electrical element includes a memory element configured to receive and store the command signal from the data stream. In a particular embodiment, the at least one LED chip includes a plurality of LED chips forming at least one LED pixel.

[0031] In another aspect, an LED package includes at least one LED and an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element configured to receive a reset signal comprising at least one pulse of a serial communication signal. In certain embodiments, the at least one pulse comprises holding a line state of the serial communication signal high or low for a longer time interval than other pulses of the serial communication signal. In certain embodiments, the at least one pulse comprises multiple pulses of the serial communication signal. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is further configured to initiate a reset command upon receiving the reset signal. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is further configured to pass the reset signal without initiating the reset command. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element is further configured to: provide a PWM signal to the at least one LED, the PWM signal comprising a PWM period and a PWM duty cycle, the PWM duty cycle corresponding to a portion of the PWM period during which the at least one LED is electrically activated; and segment the PWM duty cycle such that the at least one LED is electrically activated and electrically deactivated multiple times within the PWM period.

[0032] In other aspects, any of the above aspects and / or various separate aspects and features as described herein may be combined for additional advantage. Any of the various features and elements as disclosed herein may be combined with one or more other disclosed features and elements, unless otherwise indicated herein.

[0033] Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0034] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate several aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0034] [Figure 1A]

[0035] 1 is a top view of the front of a representative display panel for a light-emitting diode (LED) display including a plurality of active LED pixels. [Figure 1B]

[0036] 1B is a bottom view of the rear surface of the exemplary display panel of FIG. 1A. [Figure 2A]

[0037] 1 is a bottom view of an LED package in a particular state of manufacture, with multiple LEDs and active electrical elements mounted on a submount. [Figure 2B]

[0038] 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along section line AA of FIG. 2A. [Figure 2C]

[0039] 2B is a bottom view of the LED package of FIG. 2A at a later stage of manufacture, in which an encapsulation layer and a plurality of conductive traces have been formed. [Figure 2D]

[0040] 2D is a cross-sectional view taken along section line BB in FIG. 2C. [Figure 2E]

[0041] 2D is a bottom view of the LED package of FIG. 2C in a subsequent state of manufacture, in which an additional encapsulation layer and multiple package bond pads have been formed. [Figure 2F]

[0042] FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along section line CC of FIG. 2E. [Figure 2G]

[0043] FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along section line DD in FIG. 2E. [Figure 2H]

[0044] FIG. 2F is a simplified top view of the LED package of FIG. 2E. [Figure 2I]

[0045] FIG. 2F is a simplified bottom view of the LED package of FIG. 2E. [Figure 3A]

[0046] 1 is a bottom view of a representative LED package including multiple conductive traces, portions of certain of the conductive traces forming package bond pads for the LED package. [Figure 3B]

[0047] 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along section line EE of FIG. 3A. [Figure 4]

[0048] 1 is a cross-sectional view of an LED package illustrating a configuration in which one or more LED chips and active electrical elements are mounted along the same horizontal plane. [Figure 5]

[0049] 1 is a cross-sectional view of an LED package illustrating a configuration in which one or more LED chips are mounted along a first horizontal plane and an active electrical element is mounted along a second horizontal plane different from the first horizontal plane. [Figure 6]

[0050] 1 is a cross-sectional view of an LED package illustrating a configuration in which one or more LED chips and an active electrical element are mounted on opposite sides of a submount. [Figure 7]

[0051] 1 is a bottom view of an LED package including a plurality of LED pixels according to an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 8]

[0052] FIG. 2 is a block schematic diagram illustrating components of an active electrical element according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 9]

[0053] FIG. 2 is a block schematic diagram illustrating components of an active electrical element according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 10]

[0054] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example structure of a volatile memory element that may be included within an active electrical element according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 11A]

[0055] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a driver element including a voltage-controlled current source circuit. [Figure 11B]

[0056] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a driver element including transconductance amplifiers arranged in an active cascode configuration. [Figure 11C]

[0057] FIG. 11C is a schematic diagram illustrating a driver element including an input amplifier added to the driver element of FIG. 11B. [Figure 11D]

[0058] FIG. 11D is a schematic diagram illustrating a driver element similar to that of FIG. 11C, but with reversed polarity connections. [Figure 11E]

[0059] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a driver element including a Howland current pump. [Figure 11F]

[0060] FIG. 11F is a schematic diagram illustrating a driver element similar to that of FIG. 11E, adding a voltage divider and an additional operational amplifier. [Figure 12A]

[0061] FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of an active electrical element including a detector element. [Figure 12B]

[0062] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of an LED package including a photodiode according to an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 13]

[0063] FIG. 2 is a block schematic diagram illustrating various components that may be included in a system level control scheme for an LED display panel according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 14]

[0064] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which an active electrical element corresponding to a particular LED pixel is configured to receive a column select signal line and separate control signals for each red, green, and blue LED chip included within the LED pixel. [Figure 15]

[0065] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which an active electrical element associated with a particular LED pixel is configured to receive a separate column select signal line for each LED chip of the LED pixel, and a single color level signal line for all of the LED chips in the LED pixel. [Figure 16]

[0066] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which an active electrical element corresponding to a particular LED pixel is configured to receive coded column select signals for each LED chip of the LED pixel, and a single color level signal line for all of the LED chips within the LED pixel. [Figure 17]

[0067] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which the active electrical elements of a particular LED package are configured to receive a column select signal, a color level signal, and one or more color select signals for the red, green, and blue LED chips contained within the LED package. [Figure 18]

[0068] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating an independent notation configuration that is similar to the configurations of both FIGS. 16 and 17. [Figure 19]

[0069] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which an active electrical element associated with a particular LED pixel is configured to receive a single column select signal line and a single color level signal line for all LED chips of the LED pixel. [Figure 20]

[0070] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which an active electrical element associated with a particular LED pixel is configured to receive a single column select signal line and a single color level signal line for all LED chips of the LED pixel. [Figure 21]

[0071] 21 is a block schematic diagram illustrating a system level control scheme for an LED display panel in which each active electrical element of an LED pixel array is configured to receive a signal line according to the embodiment of FIG. 20. [Figure 22]

[0072] 22 is a partial plan view illustrating a routing configuration for an LED display panel configured for operation according to the configurations of FIGS. 20 and 21. FIG. [Figure 23]

[0073] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which active electrical elements corresponding to particular LED pixels are configured to receive all-digital communications for column, row, and / or color selection signals. [Figure 24]

[0074] FIG. 24 is a block schematic diagram illustrating a system level control scheme for an LED display panel in which each active electrical element of an LED pixel array is configured to receive a signal line according to the embodiment of FIG. 23. [Figure 25]

[0075] 24 is a partial plan view illustrating a routing configuration for an LED display panel configured for operation according to the configuration of FIG. 23. [Figure 26A]

[0076] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary data packet arrangement according to an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 26B] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary data packet arrangement according to an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 27]

[0077] 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cascaded flow of data packets from a control element to multiple LED packages according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 28]

[0078] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cascaded flow of data packets from a control element to a plurality of LED packages, and a flow of one or more talkback data packets to the control element, according to an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 29]

[0079] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cascaded flow of data packets from a control element, additionally including a data packet configured to provide information to all LED packages, according to an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 30]

[0080] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cascading flow of data packets from a control element that additionally includes one or more subsequent data packets configured to provide additional information to at least one LED package, according to an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 31]

[0081] 1 is a partial plan view illustrating a routing configuration for an LED panel configured for operation according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 32]

[0082] 10A-10C are partial plan views illustrating routing configurations for LED panels including LED packages with selectively assignable communication ports according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 33]

[0083] 10 is a partial plan view illustrating another routing configuration for an LED panel including LED packages with selectively assignable communication ports according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 34]

[0084] 34 is a partial plan view illustrating a routing configuration for the LED panel of FIG. 33 with the addition of voltage and ground wires according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 35]

[0085] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating various inputs and corresponding actions for an active electrical element according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 36]

[0086] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an active electrical element comprising a finite state machine according to an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 37]

[0087] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an active electrical element is configured to detect a normal or adverse operating condition of at least one LED, according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 38]

[0088] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an active electrical element is configured to provide both a forward bias state and a reverse bias state to at least one LED according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 39]

[0089] FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment in which the resistor network and corresponding select switches of FIG. 38 are replaced with current sources according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 40]

[0090] FIG. 40 is a schematic diagram illustrating a multiple LED embodiment similar to that of FIG. 39. [Figure 41]

[0091] 41 is a schematic diagram illustrating the active electrical element of FIG. 40 configured with multiple ports including a supply voltage, a ground, and a bidirectional communication port according to an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 42]

[0092] FIG. 42 is a schematic diagram illustrating the active electrical element of FIG. 41 configured with polarity-independent input capability according to an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 43]

[0093] FIG. 43 is a schematic diagram illustrating a four-input rectifier that may be used to provide initial power to the switching network of FIG. 42. [Figure 44A]

[0094] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an active electrical element is configured to partition a duty cycle for pulse width modulation (PWM) control of one or more LEDs. [Figure 44B]

[0095] 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a counter conversion device is configured to be shared among multiple LEDs to partition corresponding duty cycles for the LEDs. FIG. [Figure 45]

[0096] FIG. 10 is a table diagram for providing a sequentially ordered counter for PWM control of one or more LEDs. [Figure 46]

[0097] FIG. 10 is a table diagram for providing a non-sequentially ordered counter following a bit-reversed sequence for PWM control of one or more LEDs. [Figure 47]

[0098] FIG. 10 is a table diagram for providing a non-sequentially ordered counter following a partial bit-reversal sequence for PWM control of one or more LEDs. [Figure 48]

[0099] FIG. 10 is a table diagram for providing a non-sequentially ordered counter following two-segment sequencing for PWM control of one or more LEDs. [Figure 49]

[0100] FIG. 10 is a table diagram for providing a non-sequentially ordered counter following four-segment sequencing for PWM control of one or more LEDs. [Figure 50]

[0101] FIG. 10 is a table diagram for providing a non-sequentially ordered counter following 8-segment sequencing for PWM control of one or more LEDs. [Figure 51A]

[0102] FIG. 1 illustrates a data stream in return-to-zero (RZ) format that may be provided to an active electrical element. [Figure 51B]

[0103] FIG. 10 illustrates a data stream in RZ format that includes a reset signal that may be provided to an active electrical element. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035]

[0104] The embodiments set forth below will enable those skilled in the art to practice the present invention. , represent the information necessary to illustrate the best mode for practicing the present embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings, one skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the present disclosure and recognize applications of these concepts not specifically addressed herein. It is understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims.

[0036]

[0105] Terms such as first, second, etc. are used herein to describe various elements. While the terms "and / or" may be used interchangeably, it should be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be named a second element, and similarly, a second element may be named the first element, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0037]

[0106] An element, such as a layer, region, or substrate, is "on" another element, or When referred to as extending "onto," it should be understood that it can be directly on or extend directly onto other elements, or there may be intervening elements. Conversely, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" or extending "directly onto" another element, there are no intervening elements. Similarly, when an element, such as a layer, region, or substrate, is referred to as being "over" or extending "over" another element, it can be directly on or extend directly onto the other element, or there may be intervening elements. Conversely, when an element is referred to as being "directly over" or extending "directly over" another element, there are no intervening elements. It should also be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to other elements, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or there may be intervening elements. Conversely, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

[0038]

[0107] "Below" or "above" or "upper" or "lower" or "horizontal" or "vertical" Relative terms such as "top" or "bottom" or "column" or "row" may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element, layer, surface, or region to another element, layer, surface, or region, as illustrated in the figures. It should be understood that these terms, and those discussed above, are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in a particular figure is turned over, an element, layer, surface, or region described as "top" would hereafter be oriented as "bottom."

[0039]

[0108] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only. and are not intended to be a limitation of this disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and / or "including" are used herein to refer to any entity or group of entities. It is further to be understood that when used, it specifies the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0040]

[0109] Unless otherwise specified, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) Terms used herein (including technical terms) have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Terms used herein should be interpreted to have a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the related art, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly defined as such within this specification.

[0041]

[0110] The present disclosure relates to light emitting diodes (LEDs), LED packages, and related LEDs. The present invention relates to displays, and more particularly to the active control of LEDs in LED displays. An LED display may include columns and rows of LEDs forming an array of LED pixels. A particular LED pixel may include a collection of LED chips of the same color or multiple colors; an exemplary LED pixel includes a red LED chip, a green LED chip, and a blue LED chip. In certain embodiments, an LED package may include multiple LED chips forming at least one LED pixel, and multiple such LED packages may be arranged to form an array of LED pixels for an LED display. Each LED package may include active electrical elements configured to receive control signals and actively maintain an operating state, such as a brightness or gray level or color selection signal, for the LED chips of the LED package while other LED packages are addressed. In certain embodiments, the active electrical elements may include active circuitry including one or more of a driver device, a signal conditioning or conversion device, a memory device, a decoder device, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device, a thermal management device, and a detection device, among others. In this regard, each LED pixel of an LED display may be configured for operation using active matrix addressing. The active electrical elements may be configured to receive one or more of an analog control signal, a coded analog control signal, a digital control signal, and a coded digital control signal. A display panel is disclosed that includes an array of such LED pixels on a first side of the panel and control circuitry on a back side of the panel that is configured to communicate with each active electrical element of the LED pixels.

[0042]

[0111] configured to receive a data stream including a plurality of data packets. An LED package is disclosed. Each data packet may include an identifier that enables each LED package in the array that receives the data packet to perform one or more actions based on the identifier or a series of identifiers. Various additional data packets are disclosed, including a talkback data packet, a data packet for all LED packages receiving the data stream, and a subsequent data packet. LED packages with selectively assignable communication ports are also disclosed. The data signals and data packets sent to the active electrical element may include compressed data codes that are later expanded, as well as one or more of transfer function, gamma correction, and color depth data. Active electrical elements are disclosed that are configured to provide both forward and reverse bias states to the LEDs to detect adverse operating conditions, such as reverse leakage and deviations to forward voltage levels. Such adverse operating conditions may be implemented as part of a self-test routine for the LED package. The active electrical elements as disclosed herein may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). LED packages are also disclosed that may self-configure based on the manner in which various input or output lines are connected.

[0043]

[0112] The present disclosure relates to LEDs, LED packages, and The present invention relates to active control of related LED displays. In certain embodiments, the effective PWM frequency for LEDs is increased by segmenting the duty cycle at which the LEDs are electrically activated within each PWM period. Segmenting the duty cycle within a PWM period may be achieved by modifying or reordering the sequence in which a comparator outputs control signals to a driver that operates the LEDs. In this manner, the duty cycle within each PWM period may be segmented over a series of pulses that electrically activate and deactivate each LED multiple times within each PWM period, rather than continuously holding the LEDs in an electrically activated state for the duration of the duty cycle. In certain embodiments, active electrical elements incorporated within one or more LED packages of an LED display can segment the duty cycle for one or more LEDs. In certain embodiments, an active electrical element is disclosed that can receive a reset signal from a data stream to either initiate a reset action or pass the reset signal along to other active electrical elements of the display.

[0044]

[0113] An LED chip typically consists of many different semiconductor layers arranged in different ways. The active LED structure comprises an active LED structure or region that may have a number of different layers, each of which may have a number of different structures. The fabrication and operation of LEDs and their active structures is generally known in the art and will only be briefly described herein. The layers of the active LED structure may be fabricated using known processes, with a preferred process being fabrication using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The layers of the active LED structure may comprise many different layers, and typically comprise an active layer sandwiched between n-type and p-type oppositely doped epitaxial layers, all of which are formed in succession on a growth substrate. These layers may include buffer layers, nucleation layers, superlattice structures, undoped layers, cladding layers, and the like. layer, contact layer, current spreading layer, and light extraction layer and device. It should be understood that additional layers and elements can also be included in the active LED structure, including, but not limited to, the active layers can comprise a single quantum well, multiple quantum wells, a double heterostructure, or a superlattice structure.

[0045]

[0114] The active LED structure can be fabricated from different material systems, some of which The material system is a III-nitride-based material system. III-nitrides refer to semiconductor compounds formed between nitrogen and elements in Group III of the periodic table, typically aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga), and indium (In). Gallium nitride (GaN) is a common binary compound. III-nitrides also refer to ternary and quaternary compounds such as aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN), indium gallium nitride (InGaN), and aluminum indium gallium nitride (AlInGaN). In III-nitrides, silicon (Si) is a common n-type dopant, and magnesium (Mg) is a common p-type dopant. Thus, the active, n-type, and p-type layers in III-nitride-based material systems may include one or more layers of GaN, AlGaN, InGaN, and AlInGaN, which are either undoped or doped with Si or Mg. Other material systems include silicon carbide (SiC), organic semiconductor materials, and other III-V systems such as gallium phosphide (GaP), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and related compounds.

[0046]

[0115] The active LED structure is made of sapphire, SiC, and aluminum nitride (AlN ), GaN, and many other materials may be grown on growth substrates, the preferred substrate being the 4H polytype of SiC, although other SiC polytypes can also be used, including the 3C, 6H, and 15R polytypes. SiC is more suitable for Group III nitrides than other substrates. SiC has certain advantages, such as a closer crystal lattice match to III-nitride films, resulting in high-quality III-nitride films. SiC also has very high thermal conductivity, so that the total output power of III-nitride devices on SiC is not limited by the heat dissipation of the substrate. Sapphire is another common substrate for III-nitrides, and it also has certain advantages, including lower cost, an established manufacturing process, and good translucent optical properties.

[0047]

[0116] Different embodiments of the active LED structure include the active layer and the n-type and n-type The LED chip can emit different wavelengths of light depending on the hybridization of the p-type and p-type layers. For example, active LED structures for various LEDs may emit blue light with a peak wavelength range of approximately 430 nanometers (nm) to 480 nm, green light with a peak wavelength range of 500 nm to 570 nm, and red light with a peak wavelength range of 600 nm to 650 nm. The LED chip can also be coated with one or more lumiphor or other conversion materials, such as phosphors, so that at least a portion of the light from the LED chip is absorbed by the one or more phosphors and converted to one or more different wavelength spectrums according to the characteristic emission from the one or more phosphors. In some embodiments, the combination of the LED chip and one or more phosphors emits a generally white light combination. The one or more phosphors may be yellow (e.g., YAG:Ce), green (e.g., LuAg:Ce), and red (e.g., Ca i-x-y Sr x EU yAlSiN3) luminescent phosphors, and combinations thereof. The lumiphore material as described herein may be or include one or more of a phosphor, a scintillator, a lumiphore ink, a quantum dot material, a daylight tape, and the like. The lumiphore material may be provided by any suitable means, such as directly coated on one or more surfaces of the LED, dispersed in an encapsulant material configured to cover one or more LEDs, and / or coated on one or more optical or support elements (e.g., by powder coating, inkjet printing, or the like). In certain embodiments, the lumiphore material may be downconverting or upconverting, and both downconverting and upconverting materials may be provided. In certain embodiments, multiple different (e.g., compositionally different) lumiphore materials arranged to produce different peak wavelengths may be arranged to receive the emitted light from one or more LED chips.

[0048]

[0117] The light emitted from the active layer or region of the LED chip is typically The mirror has a Conversian emission pattern. For directional applications, an internal mirror or external reflective surface may be employed to redirect as much light as possible toward the desired emission direction. The internal mirror may include a single or multiple layers. Some multilayer mirrors include a metallic reflector layer and a dielectric reflector layer, with the dielectric reflector layer disposed between the metallic reflector layer and the multiple semiconductor layers. A passivation layer may be disposed between the metallic reflector layer and first and second electrical contacts, with the first electrical contact disposed in conductive electrical communication with the first semiconductor layer and the second electrical contact disposed in conductive electrical communication with the second semiconductor layer. In some embodiments, the first and second electrical contacts may themselves be configured as mirror layers. For single-layer or multilayer mirrors that include surfaces exhibiting less than 100% reflectivity, some light may be absorbed by the mirror. Additionally, light redirected through the active LED structure may be absorbed by other layers or elements within the LED chip.

[0049]

[0118] As used herein, a layer or region of a light-emitting device refers to that layer or region. A layer or region may be considered "transparent" when at least 80% of the luminescent radiation incident on that layer or region emerges through that layer or region. Additionally, as used herein, a layer or region of an LED is considered to be "reflective" or embody a "mirror" or "reflector" when at least 80% of the luminescent radiation incident on that layer or region is reflected. In some embodiments, the luminescent radiation includes visible light, such as blue and / or green LEDs, with or without lumiphor materials. In other embodiments, the luminescent radiation may include non-visible light. For example, in the context of GaN-based blue and / or green LEDs, silver (e.g., at least 80% reflective) may be considered a reflective material. In the case of ultraviolet (UV) LEDs, appropriate materials may be selected to provide a desired reflectivity, and in some embodiments, high reflectivity, and / or a desired absorption, and in some embodiments, low absorption. In certain embodiments, a "light-transmitting" material may be configured to transmit at least 50% of the luminescent radiation of a desired wavelength. In certain embodiments, an initially "light-transmitting" material may be modified to become a "light-absorbing" material that transmits less than 50% of the luminescent radiation of a desired wavelength by the addition of one or more light-absorbing materials, such as opaque or non-reflective materials containing gray, dark, or black particles or materials.

[0050]

[0119] The present disclosure provides LEs with various geometries, such as vertical or horizontal geometries. Vertical geometry LED chips can be useful for vertically aligned LED chips. Vertical geometry LED chips typically include anode and cathode connections on opposite sides of the LED chip. Lateral geometry LED chips typically include both anode and cathode connections on the same side of the LED chip facing away from a substrate, such as a growth substrate. Certain embodiments disclosed herein relate to the use of flip-chip LED devices in which a light-transmitting substrate represents the exposed light-emitting surface.

[0051]

[0120] An LED chip or LED package containing one or more LED chips LEDs can be arranged in many different applications to provide illumination of an object, surface, or area. In certain applications, a collection of different colored LED chips or LED packages may be arranged as pixels for LED display applications, including video displays. For example, individual collections of red, green, and blue LED chips may form LED pixels of a larger LED display. In certain applications, the red, green, and blue LED chips of each pixel may be packaged together as a multi-LED package, and an LED display is formed when an array of such multi-LED packages is arranged together. In this regard, each pixel may include a single LED package including a red LED chip, a green LED chip, and a blue LED chip. In other embodiments, the red, green, and blue LED chips may be packaged separately or arranged in a chip-on-board configuration. In certain LED display applications, an array of LED pixels is arranged on a panel, sometimes referred to as a tile or LED module, and an array of such panels is arranged together to form a larger LED display. Depending on the application, each panel of an LED display may include a different number of LED pixels. In certain applications, each panel of an LED display may include an array formed by 64 columns by 64 rows or more of LED pixels. In certain embodiments, each panel of an LED display may be configured with a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 LED pixels, or 4K resolution. For applications where a higher screen resolution is desired for the LED display, each panel may include even more columns and rows of LED pixels that are more closely spaced together. Depending on the desired screen resolution, the pixel pitch may be approximately 3 millimeters (mm), or approximately 2.5 mm, or approximately 1.6 mm, or within a range of approximately 1.5 mm to approximately 3 mm, or within a range of approximately 1.6 mm to approximately 3 mm, or within a range of approximately 1.5 mm to approximately 2.5 mm.Additionally, for fine pitch LED displays with even higher screen resolution, the pixel pitch may be configured to be less than 1 mm, or less than 0.8 mm, or within the range of about 0.5 mm to about 1 mm, or in certain embodiments, about 0.7 mm.

[0052]

[0121] In conventional video display applications, LED pixels are typically passive In this regard, the LED pixels are configured for discrete matrix addressing. The LEDs may be arranged for coupling to passive interface elements that provide electrical connections to a driver or controller. For example, orthogonally arranged (e.g., vertical and horizontal) conductors form columns and rows in a grid pattern, whereby the individual LED chips of each LED pixel are defined by each intersection of the columns and rows. Multiplex sequencing may be used to allow individual control of each LED chip in the array while employing fewer conductors than the number of LED chips in the array by utilizing either a common-row anode or common-row cathode matrix arrangement, and brightness control may be provided by pulse-width modulation. In this way, the conductors for a column or row are shared among many LED pixels, and time-division multiplexing is employed to address each individual LED pixel. Due to their passive configuration, each LED pixel only emits light during its respective communication time. Separate drivers for controlling the display are typically located away from the display's pixels, such as on a separate board or module, or on a printed circuit board (PCB) mounted or otherwise attached to the backside of each panel, or on the backside of a common PCB that includes the array of pixels on its front side. As previously discussed, PCBs are densely populated with electrical devices, including capacitors, field-effect transistors (FETs), decoders, microcontrollers, and the like, for driving each of the pixels on a particular panel. In higher-resolution displays, the density of such electrical devices increases correspondingly to the increased number of pixels on each panel. As previously discussed, this adds greater complexity and expense to LED panels for display applications and can increase thermal congestion in areas where the driver electronics are more closely spaced. In passive matrix addressing, LED pixels are typically driven by a pulsed signal sequence. In this regard, the LED pixels may be rapidly pulsed at a particular frequency, such as 60 hertz (Hz) or 120 Hz, depending on the display scan rate.A video display may not appear to be rapidly pulsing to the human eye, but it may be detectable by image capture equipment, and in some cases, interferometric beating may exist between the video display and other pulsating displays or light sources near the video display.

[0053]

[0122] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, each LED pixel of the LED display The LED pixel may be configured for operation using active matrix addressing. With active matrix addressing, each LED pixel is configured to actively maintain its operational or drive state, such as brightness or gray level, or color selection, while other LED pixels are being addressed, thereby allowing each LED pixel to maintain its drive state with either reduced or no pulsing, depending on the drive configuration. Thus, each LED pixel may be configured to maintain its respective operational state with a continuous drive signal rather than the pulsed signals associated with passive matrix addressing. In this regard, each LED pixel may include an active electrical chip or active electrical element, which may include a memory device and the ability to change the driving conditions of the LED pixel based on memory from the memory device. In certain embodiments, the continuous drive signal is a constant analog drive current, and the brightness level may be controlled by a pulsing method such as pulse-width modulation (PWM). In other embodiments, the continuous drive signal may refer to a PWM signal that is not interrupted by the scanning of other LED pixels within the array or sub-array. In certain embodiments, an active electrical chip may include active circuitry including one or more of driver devices, signal conditioning or conversion devices, memory devices, decoder devices, ESD protection devices, thermal management devices, and detection devices, among others. As used herein, the terms "active electrical chip," "active electrical element," or "active electrical component" refer to memory that may be stored within a chip or component. The term "active LED pixel" includes any chip or component capable of changing the drive conditions of an LED based on the pixel's color or other information. As used herein, the term "active LED pixel" includes one or more LED devices forming a pixel and active electrical chips as described above. In certain embodiments, each LED pixel may comprise a single LED package configured as an active LED package containing multiple LED chips and active electrical elements as described above. In this way, the number of separate electrical devices required for an LED display, such as the separate electrical devices located behind the LED panel of an LED display as previously described, may be reduced. Additionally, the overall operating power required to run the LED panel may be reduced.

[0054]

[0123] FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic diagram of an LED display including a plurality of active LED pixels 12. FIG. 1B is a top view of the front side of a representative display panel 10 of FIG. 1A. As illustrated, a plurality of active LED pixels 12 may be arranged in columns and rows to form an array of active LED pixels 12 across the front side of the display panel 10. In certain embodiments, each of the active LED pixels 12 is configured with active electrical elements that include the ability to receive an input signal, store a memory based on the input signal, change the drive conditions of the LEDs in each active LED pixel 12 based on the stored memory, and update the drive conditions each time the memory is updated with an input signal. In certain embodiments, each active LED pixel 12 comprises an LED package that includes multiple LED chips that form the LED pixel and the active electrical elements. FIG. 1B is a bottom view of the rear side of the representative display panel of FIG. 1A. Although all are illustrated, the display panel 10 may include additional passive or active elements configured to receive, process, and deliver signals to the active LED pixels (12 in FIG. 1A). For example, display panel 10 may include input signal connectors 14 and output signal connectors 16, each of which may be configured as a video source connector, including a video graphics array (VGA) connector, a digital visual interface (DVI) connector, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connector, or a display port connector, among others. Display panel 10 may include a control element 18 including control circuitry, such as a semiconductor control element. Control element 18 may be configured to receive input signals via input signal connector 14 and output control signals for active LED pixels. As will be described in more detail below, the active electrical elements of each LED pixel are configured to independently change the drive conditions of each LED chip within the LED pixel in response to the control signals output from control element 18. In certain embodiments, control element 18 comprises an integrated circuit, such as one or more of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a microcontroller, a programmable control element, and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).In certain embodiments, multiple control elements 18 may be configured on or registered with each display panel 10. Decoder elements 20 may be configured to receive control signals from the control elements 18 and route them to multiple signal lines for the active LED pixels (12 in FIG. 1A). In certain embodiments, one or more digital-to-analog converters (DACs) 22 may be provided to convert digital signals from the control elements 18 and decoder elements 20 before reaching the active LED pixels (12 in FIG. 1A). The display panel 10 may also include other passive or active elements 24, which may include additional decoders, resistors, capacitors, or other electrical elements or circuits for video display. In this manner, the signal connectors 14 and 16, the control elements 18, the decoder elements 20, the DACs 22, and the other passive or active elements 24 are registered with the display panel 10. In an alternative embodiment, the back surface of the display panel 10 may include another multiple LED packages forming another array of LED pixels. In this regard, the display panel 10 may be configured for a double-sided display application. In such an embodiment, the signal connectors 14 and 16 may be provided on the back surface of the display panel 10. At least some of the drivers 14 and 16, control elements 18, decoder elements 20, DACs 22, and other passive or active elements 24 may be registered to the display panel 10 at locations other than the back surface in a configuration for providing control signals from one or more edges of the display panel 10.

[0055]

[0124] 2A-2I illustrate a plurality of LEDs 28 according to embodiments disclosed herein. 2A illustrates various states of manufacture of an LED package 26 including LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 and an active electrical element 30. In certain embodiments, separate LED packages 26 may be configured to form each of the active LED pixels (12 in FIG. 1A) in a display panel (10 in FIG. 1A). The active electrical element 30 may also be referred to as an active electrical chip or active electrical component. FIG. 2A is a bottom view of the LED package 26 in a particular state of manufacture, in which the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 and the active electrical element 30 are mounted to a submount 32. In particular, the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 and the active electrical element 30 may be mounted to a first surface 32′ of the submount 32. A light-transmitting die-attach material may be disposed between the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 and the submount 32 to facilitate mounting. Each of the plurality of LEDs 28-1 to 28-3 may include a corresponding cathode contact 34-1 to 34-3 (e.g., an n-type contact pad) and a corresponding anode contact 36-1 to 36-3 (e.g., a p-type contact pad). In certain embodiments, the plurality of LEDs 28-1 to 28-3 comprises individual LED chips that produce different dominant wavelengths of light. For example, LED 28-1 may be configured to produce primarily green light emission, LED 28-2 may be configured to produce primarily blue light emission, and LED 28-3 may be configured to produce primarily red light emission. Thus, the plurality of LEDs 28-1 to 28-3 may comprise a green LED chip, a blue LED chip, and a red LED chip. In other embodiments, different color combinations and numbers of LEDs are possible. In still further embodiments, each of the plurality of LEDs 28-1 to 28-3 may be configured to produce light emission that is primarily the same as one another. In other embodiments, the plurality of LEDs 28-1 to 28-3 may comprise micro LED structures in which a common active LED structure is divided into multiple active LED structure portions to form the plurality of LEDs 28-1 to 28-3, which may be addressable independently of each other.

[0056]

[0125] In certain embodiments, the active electrical element 30 may be a signal or multiple signals. and configured to receive the operating states and independently drive each LED of the plurality of LEDs 28-1-28-3. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element 30 includes a memory element, chip, or component configured to store one or more operating states for the plurality of LEDs 28-1-28-3 received from an external source, such as a control element (18 in FIG. 1B). The active electrical element 30 may be further configured to change one or more drive conditions of the plurality of LEDs 28-1-28-3 based on the one or more stored operating states. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element 30 is configured to independently change the drive conditions of each LED of the plurality of LEDs 28-1-28-3 based on the plurality of operating states stored by the memory element. In this regard, the active electrical element 30 may be configured to receive and store one or more operating states and independently drive each LED of the plurality of LEDs 28-1-28-3 in accordance with the one or more operating states. The active electrical element 30 may continue to drive and maintain the operational state of each LED of the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 until the active electrical element 30 receives a refresh or updated signal corresponding to the updated operational state. In this manner, the active electrical element 30 may be configured to change the drive conditions of the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 according to the temporarily stored operational state of the memory element. Accordingly, the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 may be configured for active matrix addressing, as previously described. The active electrical element 30 may be configured to address one or more operational states of the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 according to the temporarily stored operational state of the memory element. To facilitate rapid reception, the active electrical element 30 may include multiple contact pads 38. In certain embodiments, certain contact pads of the multiple contact pads 38 are configured to receive one or more signals, while other contact pads of the multiple contact pads 38 are configured to transmit signals to independently drive or address the multiple LEDs 28-1 through 28-3. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element 30 comprises one or more of an integrated circuit chip, an ASIC, a microcontroller, or an FPGA. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element 30 may be configured to be programmable or reprogrammable after it is manufactured through various memory elements and logic embedded within the active electrical element 30. In this regard, the active electrical element 30 may be considered programmable in embodiments in which the active electrical element 30 does not include a complete FPGA.

[0057]

[0126] The submount 32 can be made of many different materials, with the preferred material being The material is electrically insulating. Suitable materials include, but are not limited to, ceramic materials such as aluminum oxide or alumina, AlN, or organic insulators such as polyimide (PI) and polyphthalamide (PPA). In other embodiments, the submount 32 can comprise PCB, sapphire, Si, or any other suitable material. For PCB embodiments, different PCB types can be used, such as standard FR-4 PCB, bismaleimide triazine (BT) or related materials, metal-core PCB, or any other type of PCB. In certain embodiments, the submount 32 comprises an optically transmissive material to allow light emitted from the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 to pass through the submount 32. In this regard, the light-emitting surface of each of the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 may be mounted to the submount 32. Suitable optically transmissive materials for the submount 32 include glass, sapphire, epoxy, and silicone. In certain embodiments where the submount 32 is an optically transmissive submount, the submount 32 may be referred to as a superstrate. Specifically, "superstrate" is used herein to avoid confusion with other substrates that may be part of a semiconductor light emitting device, such as a growth or carrier substrate for an LED chip or a different submount for LED package 26. The term "superstrate" is not intended to limit the orientation, location, and / or composition of the structure it describes. In certain embodiments, submount 32 may comprise an optically transmissive superstrate, and LED package 26 may not have a separate submount. In other embodiments, submount 32 may comprise an optically transmissive superstrate, LED package 26 may comprise an additional submount, and multiple LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 are disposed between submount 32 and the additional submount.

[0058]

[0127] FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along section line AA of FIG. 2A. First, LED 28-1 is mounted on first surface 32' of submount 32. Light emission from LED 28-1 may therefore be configured to pass through submount 32 such that second surface 32'' of submount 32 is configured as the primary light-emitting surface of LED package 26. Notably, anode contact 36-1 and cathode contact (34-1) of LED 28-1 are disposed on opposite sides of submount 32 from LED 28-1. In this regard, light emission from LED 28-1 may pass through the submount and exit from opposite surface 32'' without interacting with each other or being absorbed by anode contact 36-1 and cathode contact (34-1). While the orientation of the cross-sectional view in FIG. 2B is intended to illustrate that second surface 32'' of submount 32 is configured as the primary light-emitting surface, during intermediate manufacturing steps, the orientation of FIG. 2B and subsequent cross-sectional manufacturing views may be rotated 180 degrees as LED 28-1 is sequentially assembled onto submount 32.

[0059]

[0128] FIG. 2C shows a cross-sectional view of a substrate having an encapsulation layer 40 and a plurality of conductive traces 42-1 through 42-7 formed thereon. 2A at a later stage of fabrication. FIG. 2D is a cross-sectional view taken along section line BB of FIG. 2C, showing the electrical connectors 44. Prior to the formation of the encapsulation layer 40 and the conductive traces 42-1 through 42-7, the electrical connectors 44 may be formed on the cathode contacts 34-1 through 34-3 and anode contacts 36-1 through 36-3 of each of the LEDs 28-1 through 28-3. The electrical connectors 44 may also be formed on the contact pads 38 of the active electrical element 30. In certain embodiments, the electrical connectors 44 may be formed using metal bump bonds, metal pads, metal wires, metal interconnects, and metal pedestals, among others. The electrical connectors 44 may include at least one of the following: The electrical connectors 44 may be formed by various methods, including, but not limited to, wire bump bonding, solder bumping, plating, laser drilling of vias that are later filled with metal, or other metallization formation techniques. The electrical connectors 44 may be formed at the wafer level before component assembly, after die attachment of the LEDs 28-1 through 28-3, or in other manufacturing steps depending on various process configurations. After forming the electrical connectors 44, an encapsulation layer 40 may be blanket deposited to cover the LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 and the active electrical element 30. In certain embodiments, the encapsulation layer 40 may further cover the electrical connectors 44. The encapsulation layer 40 may be configured to surround the outer periphery or side edges of each of the LEDs 28-1 through 28-3. As illustrated in FIG. 2D , the encapsulation layer 40 may cover at least a portion of the bottom surface of each of the LEDs 28-1 through 28-3. The encapsulation layer 40 may also be configured to surround the outer periphery or side edges of the active electrical element 30. In such embodiments, a removal step may then be applied to the encapsulation layer 40 such that a portion of the encapsulation layer 40 is removed to form an exposed surface of the plurality of electrical connectors 44. The removal step may include a planarization process, such as grinding, lapping, or polishing the encapsulation layer 40 to expose the plurality of electrical connectors 44. In embodiments in which the plurality of electrical connectors 44 comprise laser-drilled vias or microvias, the removal step may not be required.

[0060]

[0129] The encapsulation layer 40 may be applied or deposited by a coating or dispensing process. In certain embodiments, the encapsulation layer 40 may include one or more of a silicone, an epoxy, and a thermoplastic material such as a polycarbonate, an aliphatic urethane, or a polyester, among others. The encapsulation layer 40 may be configured to modify or control the light output from the LEDs 28-1-28-3. For example, the encapsulation layer 40 may include an opaque or non-reflective material, such as a gray, dark, or black material, that may absorb some light traveling between the LEDs 28-1-28-3, thereby improving the contrast between the light emitted by the LEDs 28-1-28-3 passing through the submount 32. In certain embodiments, the encapsulation layer 40 may include light-absorbing particles suspended in a binder, such as a silicone or epoxy. The light-absorbing particles may include at least one of carbon, silicon, or metal particles or nanoparticles. In certain embodiments, the light-absorbing particles include a predominantly black color that, when suspended in the binder, provides the encapsulation layer 40 with a predominantly black or dark color. Depending on the desired application, encapsulation layer 40 may be configured as transparent or translucent, or encapsulation layer 40 may include light-reflecting or light-redirecting materials, such as fused silica, fumed silica, or titanium dioxide (TiO) particles, which contribute to the predominantly white color of encapsulation layer 40. Other particles or filters may be used to enhance the mechanical, thermal, optical, or electrical properties of encapsulation layer 40. In certain embodiments, encapsulation layer 40 may include multiple layers with different mechanical, thermal, optical, or electrical properties.

[0061]

[0130] After the surface of the electrical connector 44 is exposed through the encapsulation layer 40, a plurality of conductive traces are The traces 42-1 to 42-7 are encapsulation layers 40 (e.g., in the orientation illustrated in FIG. 2D, 2C , the conductive traces 42-1, 42-2, and 42-3 are electrically connected to the active electrical element 30, but not to any of the LEDs 28-1, 28-2, and 28-3. In this regard, the conductive traces 42-1, 42-2, and 42-3 may be configured to provide a conductive path between the contact pads 38 of the active electrical element 30 and the cathode contacts 34-1, 34-2, and 36-3 and anode contacts 36-1, 36-2, and 36-3 of each of the LEDs 28-1, 28-2, and 28-3. In this regard, the conductive traces 42-1, 42-2, and 42-3 may be configured to provide a signal from an external source (such as the control element 18 of FIG. 1B ) to the active electrical element 30. 2C is configured to provide a conductive path between the active electrical element 30 and the anode contacts 36-1 through 36-3 of each of the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3. In this regard, the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 may be configured for common anode control. In other embodiments, the plurality of conductive traces 42-1 through 42-7 and the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 may be configured for common cathode control.

[0062]

[0131] FIG. 2E shows an additional encapsulation layer 46 and multiple package bond pads 48-1 to 2C is a bottom view of the LED package 26 of FIG. 2C at a later stage of manufacture, in which conductive traces 42-1, 42-2, 42-3, and 42-7 have been formed. FIG. 2F is a cross-sectional view taken along section line CC of FIG. 2E. FIG. 2G is a cross-sectional view taken along section line DD of FIG. 2E, in which an additional electrical connector 50 is visible. Prior to the formation of the additional encapsulation layer 46 and the plurality of package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4, the plurality of additional electrical connectors 50 may be formed over and in electrical communication with the conductive traces 42-1, 42-2, 42-3, and 42-7. The additional electrical connectors 50 may be configured and formed in a manner similar to the previously described electrical connector 44. In certain embodiments, the additional electrical connectors 50 may be formed on the electrical connector 44 without any intervening conductive traces. Alternatively, the additional encapsulation layer 46 may be applied first, and vias or openings for the additional electrical connectors 50 may subsequently be formed by a selective removal step, such as laser drilling. In a similar manner, a selective removal step may also be used to form openings for the previously described electrical connectors 44. An additional encapsulation layer 46 may then be blanket deposited to cover the bottom surfaces of the plurality of conductive traces 42-1 through 42-7 as well as the additional electrical connector 50. The additional encapsulation layer 46 may be configured and formed in a manner similar to the previously described encapsulation layer 40. Notably, the additional encapsulation layer 46 may also be formed on portions of the encapsulation layer 40 that are not covered by the plurality of conductive traces 42-1 through 42-7. In this regard, the encapsulation layer 40 and the additional encapsulation layer 46 may together form a continuous encapsulation layer 40, 46 such that at least some portions of the plurality of conductive traces 42-1 through 42-7 are embedded within the encapsulation layer 40, 46. After formation of the additional encapsulation layer 46, a removal step (e.g., planarization) as previously described may be applied to form exposed surfaces of the plurality of additional electrical connectors 50. A plurality of package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4 may then be formed on the bottom surface of the additional encapsulation layer 46 and in electrical communication with the additional electrical connector 50. In this regard, package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4 are configured to receive signals that are external to LED package 26.In certain embodiments, package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4 are configured to be mounted and adhered to another surface (e.g., a mounting surface of an LED panel that includes electrical traces or other types of signal lines) for receiving external signals (e.g., from control element 18 of FIG. 1B). As illustrated, package bond pad 48-4 is electrically connected to active electrical element 30 by an electrical pathway that includes a particular additional electrical connector 50 and conductive trace 42-1. Similarly, package bond pad 48-3 is connected to active electrical element 30 by a different electrical pathway that includes a different additional electrical connector 50 and conductive trace 42-2. The package bond pad 48-2 is electrically connected to the active electrical element 30 by a different electrical pathway including a different additional electrical connector 50 and conductive trace 42-3. Specifically, the package bond pad 48-1 is electrically connected to the anode contacts 36-1 through 36-3 of each of the LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 by a different additional electrical connector 50 and conductive trace 42-7 in a configuration for common anode control. As previously described, the LED package 26 can be configured for common cathode control to rearrange the routing of the multiple conductive traces 42-1 through 42-7. Additional layers, such as solder mask or other insulating layers or materials, may be applied to selected areas of the additional encapsulation layer 46 and package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4 to further delineate the footprints of the package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4 and prevent shorting of the solder material when assembled or mounted on a PCB. In certain embodiments, multiple additional encapsulation layers 46 and at least one additional electrical trace may be formed in a similar manner before package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4 are formed. In this manner, additional layers of electrical traces may be stacked or alternated with multiple additional encapsulation layers 46 to provide more conductive paths and connections for LED package 26.

[0063]

[0132] FIG. 2H is a simplified top view of the LED package 26 of FIG. 2E. The diagram illustrated by H represents the primary light-emitting surface 52 of the LED package 26. The plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 are therefore configured below the submount 32 (e.g., an optically transmissive submount or optically transmissive superstrate) to provide light emission that passes through the submount 32. The active electrical element 30 is also configured below the submount 32, and all electrical connections and conductive pathways, as previously described, are therefore disposed below the active electrical element 30 and below the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 relative to the primary light-emitting surface 52. Light generated from the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 may therefore pass through the submount 32 and exit the primary light-emitting surface 52 with reduced loss or absorption to electrical connections, conductive pathways, or other elements within the LED package 26. In certain embodiments, the plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 form LED pixels for the LED package 26, which can be combined with other LED packages to form an LED pixel array for video display applications.

[0064]

[0133] FIG. 2I is a simplified bottom view of the LED package 26 of FIG. 2E. The bottom view illustrated by I represents a primary mounting surface 54 of the LED package 26. In this regard, the LED package 26 is configured to be mounted to an exterior surface (e.g., a video display panel or PCB) such that the package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4 are glued or soldered to electrical communication lines provided on the exterior surface. In certain embodiments, at least one package bond pad 48-1 may include an identifier 56, such as a notch, a different shape, or other form of identifier, configured to communicate the polarity and mounting position of the LED package 26 relative to the exterior surface.

[0065]

[0134] FIG. 3A shows the conductive traces 60-1 to 60-4 of the LED package 5 3B is a bottom view of an exemplary LED package 58 including a plurality of conductive traces 60-1 through 60-7 forming package bond pads 62-1 through 62-4 for LEDs 28-1 through 28-3. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along section line EE of FIG. 3A. The LED package 58 may include a submount 32, an encapsulation layer 40, a plurality of LEDs 28-1 through 28-3 with cathode contacts 34-1 through 34-3 and anode contacts 36-1 through 36-3, and an active electrical element 30 with contact pads 38, as previously described. After planarizing the encapsulation layer 40 to expose the cathode contacts 34-1 through 34-3, anode contacts 36-1 through 36-3, and contact pads 38, as previously described, the plurality of conductive traces 60-1 through 60-7 are bonded to the encapsulation layer 40 in a manner similar to the plurality of conductive traces 42-1 through 42-7 of FIG. 2C. 3A , portions of certain conductive traces 60-1 through 60-4 are configured with a larger area across LED package 58. An insulating material 64, such as a solder mask, is then formed over portions of conductive traces 60-1 through 60-7. Notably, insulating material 64 does not extend entirely across all of conductive traces 60-1 through 60-7. Notably, portions of conductive traces 60-1 through 60-4 are not covered by insulating material 64 to form package bond pads 62-1 through 62-4 of LED package 58. In this regard, package bond pads 62-1 through 62-4 may be glued or soldered to another surface, and insulating material 64 may prevent electrical shorting between different ones of conductive traces 60-1 through 60-7.

[0066]

[0135] FIG. 4 shows one or more LEDs 28-1 and an active electrical element 30. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an LED package 66 illustrating a mounting configuration along a first horizontal plane P1 of the LED package 66. While only the LED 28-1 is illustrated in FIG. 4, it should be understood that the LED package 66 may include multiple LEDs mounted in a manner similar to the LED 28-1 of FIG. 4. As illustrated, the LED 28-1 and the active electrical element 30 are mounted or adhered along the first horizontal plane P1 defined by the mounting surface of the submount 32. In some embodiments, the LED 28-1 and the active electrical element 30 may include different dimensions, such as different thicknesses or heights, relative to the submount 32. Additionally, adhesive layers of different thicknesses may be provided to adhere the LED 28-1 and the active electrical element 30 to the submount 32, respectively. After bonding the LED 28-1 and the active electrical element 30 along the first horizontal plane P1, the electrical connector 44, the encapsulation layer 40, the additional electrical connector 50, the conductive traces 42-1 to 42-3, the additional encapsulation layer 46, and the package bond pad 48-1 may be formed as previously described.

[0067]

[0136] FIG. 5 shows one or more LEDs 28-1 mounted along a first horizontal plane P1. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an LED package 68 illustrating a configuration in which the LED 28-1 is mounted on a first horizontal surface P1 of the LED package 68, and the active electrical element 30 is mounted along a second horizontal surface P2 different from the first horizontal surface P1 of the LED package 68. While only the LED 28-1 is illustrated in FIG. 5 , it should be understood that the LED package 68 may include multiple LEDs mounted in a manner similar to the LED 28-1 of FIG. 5 . As illustrated, the LED 28-1 is mounted or bonded along the first horizontal surface P1 defined by the mounting surface of the submount 32. The electrical connector 44, encapsulation layer 40, and multiple conductive traces 42-1 through 42-3 are then formed as previously described. The active electrical element 30 is then mounted along the second horizontal surface P2 defined by the surfaces of the multiple conductive traces 42-1 through 42-3 opposite the LED 28-1. In this manner, the multiple conductive traces 42-1 through 42-2 are thereby disposed between the LED 28-1 and the active electrical element 30. The additional electrical connector 50, the additional encapsulation layer 46, and the package bond pad 48-1 may subsequently be formed as previously described. Notably, the active electrical element 30 may be at least partially embedded in the additional encapsulation layer 46 in this configuration. Accordingly, the additional encapsulation layer 46 and at least one of the additional electrical connectors 50 may include a thickness greater than that of previously described embodiments. In certain embodiments, the additional encapsulation layer 46 may comprise a second submount, and the active electrical element 30 is either embedded within or mounted to the second submount. Such an arrangement may be referred to as a chip-scale configuration.

[0068]

[0137] FIG. 6 shows a circuit diagram of a device supported by one or more LEDs 28-1 and an active electrical element 30. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an LED package 70 illustrating a configuration in which LEDs are mounted on opposing surfaces of a submount 32. Although only LED 28-1 is illustrated in FIG. 6, it should be understood that LED package 70 may include multiple LEDs mounted in a manner similar to LED 28-1 in FIG. As illustrated, a plurality of conductive traces 42-1, 42-2 are formed on the second surface 32″ of the submount 32, and additional electrical traces 71-1, 71-2 are formed on the first surface 32′ of the submount 32. The LED 28-1 is mounted or bonded to the conductive traces 42-1, 42-2 by an electrical connector 44, and the active electrical element 30 is mounted or bonded to the additional electrical traces 71-1, 71-2 by an additional electrical connector 50. An encapsulation layer 40 is formed over the LED 28-1 and the second surface 32″ of the submount 32. In certain embodiments, a portion of the encapsulation layer 40 forms the primary light-emitting surface 52 of the LED package 70. As previously described, the encapsulation layer 40 may include a black material to provide enhanced contrast between the LED 28-1 and other LEDs that may be mounted in the LED package 70. In certain embodiments, another layer or extension of the encapsulation layer 40 may extend over the LED 28-1 to provide encapsulation of the LED 28-1. In such embodiments, the other layer or extension of the encapsulation layer 40 over the LED 28-1 may include a light-transmitting material, an additional layer, or a texture. An additional encapsulation layer 46 may be formed on the first surface 32′ of the submount 32 to provide encapsulation for the active electrical element 30. In this regard, the additional encapsulation layer 46 may or may not extend across the entire first surface 32′ of the submount 32. Notably, portions of the additional conductive traces 71-2 not covered by the additional encapsulation layer 46 may form package bond pads 48, as previously described. To promote adhesion to the exterior surface, the conductive adhesive material 72 may include a thickness relative to the submount 32 that is greater than or approximately the same thickness as the active electrical element 30 and the additional encapsulation material 46. To provide electrical communication between the conductive trace 42-2 and the additional conductive trace 71-1, one or more conductive interconnects 73, such as metal slugs, vias, or traces, may be provided through the submount 32 as illustrated in FIG. 6, or the conductive interconnects 73 may wrap around the side edges of the submount 32.

[0069]

[0138] FIG. 7 illustrates an LED including a plurality of LED pixels according to embodiments disclosed herein. 2E , but includes multiple LED chips 75-1 through 75-3, 76-1 through 76-3, 77-1 through 77-3, and 78-1 through 78-3, each forming a plurality of LED pixels spaced apart from one another and packaged together within the same LED package 74. As illustrated, LED chips 75-1 through 75-3 form a first LED pixel, LED chips 76-1 through 76-3 form a second LED pixel, LED chips 77-1 through 77-3 form a third LED pixel, and LED chips 78-1 through 78-3 form a fourth LED pixel. In a specific embodiment, each LED pixel includes a red LED chip, a blue LED chip, and a green LED chip. The LED package 74 further includes an active electrical element 30' configured to electrically connect with the plurality of pixels, the plurality of conductive traces 42-1 through 42-16, and the plurality of package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4, as previously described. Notably, the LED package 74 may be configured with the same number of package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4 as previously described for a single pixel LED package (e.g., the LED package 26 of FIG. 2H). As illustrated, the LED package 74 is configured with a supply voltage (V dd ), ground (V ss), color selection signals, brightness level (or gray level) signals, analog signals, coded color selection signals, coded brightness level selection signals, digital signals, clock signals, and asynchronous data signals, as will be described in more detail below. Thus, active electrical element 30' includes four input / output and power connections, which are configured to independently change the drive conditions of each of a plurality of LED chips 75-1 through 75-3, 76-1 through 76-3, 77-1 through 77-3, and 78-1 through 78-3, as will be described in more detail below. In particular, conductive trace 42-1 connects LED chips 75-1 through 75-3, 76-1 through 76-3, 77-1 through 77-3 for common anode control. , and 78-1 through 78-3. Conductive trace 42-1 is also electrically connected between package bond pad 48-1 and active electrical element 30'. Conductive trace 42-2 is electrically connected between package bond pad 48-4 and active electrical element 30', conductive trace 42-9 is electrically connected between package bond pad 48-3 and active electrical element 30', and conductive trace 42-10 is electrically connected between package bond pad 48-2 and active electrical element 30'. In other embodiments, LED package 74 may be configured for common-cathode control, as previously described. To provide electrical communication with an increased number of LED pixels in LED package 74, active electrical element 30' may include an increased number of contact pads 38 for communication with an increased number of conductive traces 42-1 through 42-16. Four of the contact pads 38 are electrically connected to package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4, as previously described, and the remaining contact pads 38 are electrically connected to different ones of LED chips 75-1 through 75-3, 76-1 through 76-3, 77-1 through 77-3, and 78-1 through 78-3. To allow LED package 74 to control multiple LED pixels with a reduced number of input signal connections, active electrical element 30 may include circuitry configured to receive input communication signals and perform a partial pixel selection function to independently communicate operating states to each of LED chips 75-1 through 75-3, 76-1 through 76-3, 77-1 through 77-3, and 78-1 through 78-3 of each LED pixel. In this regard, when multiple LED packages 74 are arranged together to form an array of LED pixels for display applications, the resulting display will have a reduced number of LED packages 74 compared to a similarly sized display in which each LED package includes only a single LED pixel. In this regard, the total number of communication signals between an external source (eg, control element 18 of FIG. 1B) and the LED pixels may be reduced.As with the single pixel embodiment (e.g., FIG. 2E), nearly infinite combinations of routing communication signals are within the scope of this disclosure, including simple variants in which one or more metal traces are configured along the same planes as previously described for FIGS. 3A and 3B.

[0070]

[0139] FIG. 8 illustrates an active electrical element 30 (also known as a is a block schematic diagram illustrating components of an active electrical element 30 (active electrical element 30′ of FIG. 7 ). As previously described, active electrical element 30 may be incorporated into an LED package to enable active matrix addressing for a corresponding LED display. Active electrical element 30 is configured to receive an input signal from an external source (e.g., control element 18 of FIG. 1B ) and independently maintain and / or change drive conditions for one or more LEDs in the LED package. As described in more detail below, the input signal may include a single communication line or multiple communication lines in analog, digital, or a combination of analog and digital formats. In certain embodiments, active electrical element 30 comprises a memory element 80, which may include one or more of volatile and non-volatile memory elements. The memory element 80 may comprise one or more of a bipolar transistor, a field effect transistor, an inverter, a logic gate, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, an operational amplifier, a capacitor, and a look-up table, among others. In certain embodiments, the memory element 80 comprises at least one of a sample-and-hold circuit, a latch circuit, and a flip-flop circuit. In certain embodiments, the memory element 80 comprises a volatile memory element configured to store the operational states of one or more LEDs based on an input signal. During operation, each time an updated input signal is received by the active electrical element 30, the volatile memory element is updated with the new operational states of the one or more LEDs, and the one or more LEDs are updated accordingly. In response, the new operating state is activated and maintained according to the new operating state. In this regard, the volatile memory element may be configured to store the temporary operating state, and the active electrical element 30 is configured to thereby change the drive conditions of one or more LEDs according to the temporarily stored operating state. In certain embodiments, the volatile memory element may additionally be configured to store other states or conditions that may not be considered temporary, such as calibration factors or electrical transfer functions such as gains. In this regard, one or more of the temporary operating state and the non-temporary state or condition may be used collectively to generate drive conditions for one or more LEDs. In certain embodiments, the memory element 80 comprises a non-volatile memory element configured to store preset data or information that may also be used to change the operating state of one or more LEDs. A non-volatile memory element, such as a look-up table or hash table, may be provided to change the operating state based on the operating conditions or environment of the LED package. For example, a thermal management element, such as that shown in FIG. 8, that monitors the operating temperature of the LED package may be embedded within the active electrical element 30, and the operating state of one or more LEDs may be adjusted accordingly based on a comparison of the operating temperature with a value stored by the non-volatile memory element. In certain embodiments, the thermal management element includes a temperature sensor or a temperature sensor input from an external temperature sensor. In other embodiments, ambient light level information from a light sensor may be compared to a value stored in a non-volatile memory element to modify the brightness level of one or more LEDs. In further embodiments, the non-volatile memory element may be programmed to store positioning data, including default or later-programmed positioning data, for the LEDs or LED pixels of the display. The positioning may be programmed before or after installation of the LED display. The positioning may include positioning for individual LED chips, individual LED packages containing LED pixels, and individual LED panels that may collectively form the LED display.In this regard, a common control line may be connected to two or more LEDs, LED pixels, or LED packages, and positioning may be used to interpret the input signal and drive only the intended LEDs connected by the common control line.

[0071]

[0140] The active electrical element 30 also includes a resistor R1 for R2 and a resistor R3 for R4. The active electrical element 30 may include one or more ESD protection elements configured between it and other components. In certain embodiments, a decoder or control logic element is provided within the active electrical element 30 to receive one or more of the input signals and convert them into a unique combination of output signals, which are used to change different operational states of one or more LEDs. In particular, the decoder or control logic element may output a combination of output signals that may be stored in a volatile memory element and periodically updated. Each time the volatile memory element is updated, the operational state of one or more LEDs is changed or updated via the driver element 82. In certain embodiments, the decoder element is configured to provide column or row selection information for one or more LEDs, or a brightness or gray level for each of the LEDs. In the case of an LED package configuration including multiple LED pixels, the decoder element may be configured to provide pixel or sub-pixel selection within the LED package to the memory element 80. The decoder element may be configured to provide programming, set point information, or calibration information to the memory element 80. In particular embodiments, the decoder element may be configured to select particular pixels that share a control line by decoding a predefined position setting for the particular pixel on the shared control line, so that only the particular pixel responds to the control signal. The predefined position setting may be programmed and stored in a memory element 80, such as a non-volatile memory element. In particular embodiments, the driver element 82 (or buffer element) comprises a source driver element, a sink driver element, or both a source driver element and a sink driver element. A source driver element is typically used when the LED is configured for common-cathode control.A source driver is sometimes used, while a sink driver is typically used when the LEDs are configured for common-anode control. In certain embodiments, the source driver and sink driver may be included within the active electrical element 30, and thus the source driver and sink driver may be configured to provide a differential voltage output to control one or more LEDs. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element 30 may also include one or more signal conditioning elements configured to convert, manipulate, or otherwise transform the control signals before they are received by the source driver or sink driver. The signal conditioning elements may be configured to convert analog or digital signals for applications such as gamma correction or to apply other nonlinear transfer functions. In certain embodiments, the decoder / control logic communicates directly with the signal conditioning elements, while in other embodiments, the decoder / control logic assumes the task or function of the signal conditioning elements in the digital domain. In such embodiments, the signal conditioning elements may simply comprise wires when the decoder / control logic assumes the task. The signal conditioning elements may be configured or electrically connected between the memory elements 80 and the driver elements 82 so that signals leaving the memory elements 80 may be transformed or manipulated before reaching the driver elements 82. The signal conditioning elements may be configured or electrically connected between the input signals and the memory elements 80 so that the input signals may be transformed or manipulated before reaching the memory elements 80. Various other arrangements are contemplated, as the division of the various elements of the active electrical elements 30 can be done in other manners. For example, the decoder / control logic may be considered a single processor unit together with the signal conditioning and memory elements. Additionally, the active electrical elements 30 may include multiple ESD elements, and / or multiple decoder / control logic elements, and / or multiple memory elements 80, and / or multiple signal conditioning elements, and / or multiple thermal management elements, and / or multiple driver elements 82, depending on the particular application.Each of the decoder / control logic elements, memory elements 80, signal conditioning elements, thermal management elements, and driver elements can be configured as analog elements, digital elements, and combinations of analog and digital elements, including software and firmware and the like.

[0072]

[0141] FIG. 9 illustrates a configuration of an active electrical element 30 according to an embodiment disclosed herein. 9 is a block schematic diagram illustrating the active electrical elements 30. In FIG. 9, the active electrical elements 30 may include many of the same components as previously described for FIG. 8, including ESD protection elements, decoder / control logic, volatile memory elements, non-volatile memory elements, and thermal management elements. As further shown in FIG. 9, the output of the volatile memory elements may split out into separate signal lines 84-1 through 84-3 for each of the LEDs (LED1 through LED3). Each of the separate signal lines 84-1 through 84-3 may include different ones of the signal conditioning elements, source driver elements, and sink driver elements, as previously described. In this regard, each of the LEDs (LED1 through LED3) may be independently driven and modified based on one or more control signals entering the active electrical elements 30. Additionally, in the case of different color LEDs, it may be desirable for the different LEDs to be configured on different power supply lines or supply voltage inputs V1, V2. For example, due to the lower bandgap of the different material systems typically used to form red LEDs (e.g., GaAs, AlGaInP, GaP-based) compared to blue or green LEDs (e.g., GaN-based), red LEDs typically have a lower turn-on or forward voltage (e.g., 1.8 to 2.4 volts (V)) compared to blue or green LEDs (e.g., 3 to 3.3 V). In this regard, active control element 30 may be configured with separate connections (e.g., contact pad 38 in FIG. 2A) configured to receive a separate power supply line or input for the red LED (e.g., V1 at approximately 1.8 to 2.4 V) and a common power supply line or input for both the blue and green LEDs (e.g., V2 at approximately 3 to 3.3 V).

[0073]

[0142] In addition to various digital memory elements, analog memory elements may also be used. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example structure including an analog volatile memory element that may be included within an active electrical element according to embodiments disclosed herein. In FIG. 10, an example sample-and-hold circuit 86 is shown including a switching device 88, a capacitor 90, an operational amplifier 92, and an optional operational amplifier buffer 94 between the input and capacitor 90. To sample the input signal, the switching device 88 connects the input signal to capacitor 90 through operational amplifier buffer 94, and capacitor 90 stores charge. After sampling the input signal, the switching device 88 disconnects capacitor 90, and the stored charge on capacitor 90 discharges through operational amplifier 92, providing an operating state for a particular LED that is held until the input signal is sampled again. In this manner, the optional operational amplifier buffer 94 and switching device 88 may be considered components of the decoder / control logic (FIGS. 8 and 9), the capacitor 90 may be considered components of the memory element (FIGS. 8 and 9), and the operational amplifier 92 may be considered components of the signal conditioning element (FIGS. 8 and 9), which may be linear or nonlinear depending on the system configuration.

[0074]

[0143] 11A-11F illustrate active electrical 11A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example structure for a driver element that may be included within the device. For video display applications, it may be desirable for the driver element to include a non-inverting circuit configured to linearly drive each LED from a fully off state of approximately 0 microamperes (μA) or approximately 0 V to approximately 1 milliampere (mA) or approximately 3 V with low power consumption. FIG. 11A illustrates an embodiment in which the driver element 96 includes a voltage-controlled current source circuit, such as a transconductance amplifier. In a transconductance amplifier, a differential input voltage is converted to an output current for driving the LEDs. In the simplified diagram of FIG. 11A, the driver element 96 includes a non-inverting circuit, but the driver element 96 requires connections to both terminals of the LEDs for operation, which results in a more complex device layout. Therefore, the driver element 96 is not a sink driver element for common-anode control or a source driver element for common-cathode control. Additionally, resistor R1 needs to be large to reduce input voltage sensitivity, which may reduce the efficiency of the driver element 96. Additionally, when the LED needs to be turned off, the output current may have difficulty reaching a low enough value (0 μA) to achieve turn-off. FIG. 11B illustrates a driver element 98 comprising a transistor, such as a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) M1, and a transconductance amplifier arranged in an active cascode configuration including an additional resistor R2, which may facilitate complete turn-off of the LED. As previously described for FIG. 11A, the voltage sensitivity of the driver element 98 may become too high. At complete turn-on of the LED, or about 1 mA, the driver element 98 may result in a low voltage input, e.g., about 0.05 V, and therefore the active cascode configuration may suffer from an undesirable signal-to-noise ratio.

[0075]

[0144] FIG. 11C shows the active cascode configuration of FIG. 11B with transconductance FIG. 11D illustrates an embodiment of a driver element 100 that adds an input amplifier to the driver element 98, which includes an amplifier. The added input amplifier may serve to de-amplify the voltage for lower signal sensitivity and provide an improved signal-to-noise ratio. Additionally, the driver element 100 provides a sinking, or common-anode, configuration for the LED, but with an inverted input voltage. FIG. 11D illustrates an embodiment of a driver element 102 similar to the embodiment of FIG. 11C, but with a flip-flop polarity connection. In this regard, the driver element 102 includes an input amplifier between the input voltage and a driver element 98′, which is an inverted polarity version of the driver element 98, which includes a transconductance amplifier in an active cascode configuration of FIG. 11B. As illustrated, the driver element 102 illustrated in FIG. 11D offers the advantage of being non-inverting, but results in a sourcing, or common-cathode, configuration for the LED. Other driver element configurations, such as the Howland current pump configurations 104, 106 illustrated in FIGS. 11E and 11F, may also be used. Other driver element arrangements are possible. In Figure 11E, Howland current pump 104 includes an operational amplifier and resistor bridge configured to drive an LED. In Figure 11F, Howland current pump 106 further includes a voltage divider including resistors R5 and R6, added to Howland current pump 104 of Figure 11E to improve performance when little or no current is flowing. In addition, an additional operational amplifier is provided at the voltage input to form a non-inverting voltage follower (e.g., a preamplifier) ​​to provide the high input resistance required for the output buffer of the sample-and-hold circuit to ensure adequate hold time.

[0076]

[0145] A plurality of LED packages as disclosed herein may be used to form an LED display. When arranged to form an LED pixel array for an application, it may be advantageous for the location of each individual LED package to be known within its corresponding active electrical element, or for each LED package to have a specific address associated with it. In certain embodiments, each active electrical element within each LED package is configured to store location- or address-specific information, such as the specific column and row in which the LED package is registered. In this regard, the display control unit may transmit signals across the LED pixel array that are coded for a specific location within the LED pixel array, and each active electrical element of each individual LED package is configured to interpret the signals and determine whether to respond to or ignore a particular signal based on the location or address information. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element of each LED package includes a detector element configured to detect the LED package's location within the array of LED packages in the display, work in conjunction with a master controller (e.g., control element 18 of FIG. 1B , along with other hardware / software configurations), and relay that information for memory storage within the active electrical element. This task may be performed after PCB assembly when a special configuration program is run to properly set and store address and calibration information in the non-volatile memory of the active electrical elements, one or more remote memory devices, or both the active electrical elements and one or more remote memory devices.

[0077]

[0146] FIG. 12A illustrates an embodiment of an active electrical element 30 that includes a detector / signal conditioning element. 12A is a block schematic diagram illustrating an LED package. As previously described, active electrical elements 30 may be incorporated into an LED package to enable an LED display configured for active matrix addressing. The active electrical elements 30 are configured to receive input signals from an external source (e.g., control element 18 of FIG. 1B ) and independently change the drive conditions for one or more LEDs in the LED package. The block diagram of FIG. 12A is similar to that of FIG. 8 and includes memory elements 80 and driver elements 82 as previously described. As illustrated, ESD protection elements, decoder / control logic elements, thermal management elements, and signal conditioning elements may also be included as previously described. In certain embodiments, one or more of the LEDs may be used as photodetectors to generate signals received by the detector / signal conditioning elements. For example, after installation of multiple LED packages in an LED pixel array, all LED packages connected to a common data bus may not have individual unique addresses. In this regard, an initial setup procedure (or location setup procedure) may be performed, in which each of the LED packages may be scanned with a light beam, and at least one LED in each of the LED packages may act as a photodiode that provides a corresponding voltage and / or current signal that corresponds to the specific location of the LED package. In this manner, at least one of the LEDs may operate in a photovoltaic or photoconductive mode during the initial setup procedure. The signal generated by the light beam may be transmitted from a master controller (e.g., control element 18 of FIG. 1B along with other hardware / software configurations) provided via a data bus to cause the components to record their addresses. The location signal is used in conjunction with an electrical signal from the LED driver element 82. When an encoded signal for each pixel's location is transmitted across the LED pixel array, each LED package may therefore be configured to know which signal it is supposed to respond to. In such embodiments, the LED driver element 82 may be configured with a high-impedance output to support a photodetector mode for one or more LEDs during an initial setup procedure. In certain embodiments, the detector / signal conditioning element may include a voltage detector, a current sensor, or even a wire that delivers the location signal to a decoder / control logic element. In this manner, the active electrical element 30 may be configured to be addressed, and the operating state of at least one of the LEDs may be changed in a manner dependent on information, such as an address, stored in local memory. In certain embodiments, a separate photodiode, not one of the LEDs in the LED package, may be configured within the LED package to provide a location signal to the active electrical element 30. In certain embodiments, the detector / signal conditioning element may be configured to monitor the operating voltage or current of the LEDs and store such information in a memory element. In this regard, the active electrical element 30 is configured to store monitoring information, including operating temperature, position information from the thermal management element, or voltage or current information from the LED via the detector / signal conditioning element. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element 30 may be configured to communicate such monitoring information with an external source (e.g., the control element 18 of FIG. 1B or a separate device), such that the LED display may be configured to self-monitor various operating conditions and generate a report or visual indication if any of the monitored operating conditions are outside a target window. In this regard, the active electrical element 30 may be configured for bidirectional communication with an external source.

[0078]

[0147] FIG. 12B includes a photodiode 110 according to an embodiment disclosed herein. 12A is a bottom view of an LED package 108. The LED package 108 is similar to the LED package 74 of FIG. 7 and includes a plurality of LED chips 75-1 through 75-3, 76-1 through 76-3, 77-1 through 77-3, and 78-1 through 78-3, each forming a plurality of LED pixels, as previously described, and an active electrical element 30′. The LED package 108 may also include package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4 and conductive traces (42-1 through 42-16 in FIG. 7). As illustrated, the LED package 108 includes a photodiode 110 configured to detect and communicate an optical signal to other components of the active electrical element 30′ as described in FIG. 12A. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element 30′ includes the photodiode 110. In certain embodiments, the photodiode 110 is disposed on the active electrical element 30′. In other embodiments, the photodiode 110 is disposed outside the active electrical element 30′. For example, in certain embodiments, LED package 108 includes a black encapsulant that covers LED package 108 except for areas registered with each of LED chips 75-1 through 75-3, 76-1 through 76-3, 77-1 through 77-3, and 78-1 through 78-3. In this regard, photodiode 110 may be positioned adjacent to one of LED chips 75-1 through 75-3, 76-1 through 76-3, 77-1 through 77-3, and 78-1 through 78-3 such that an adequate amount of the optical signal can reach photodiode 110 without being absorbed by the black encapsulant. In other embodiments, photodiodes may be incorporated within other LED packages, including LED package 26 of FIG. 2H, LED package 58 of FIG. 3A, LED package 66 of FIG. 4, LED package 68 of FIG. 5, and LED package 70 of FIG. 6, among others. As previously described, photodiode 110 may be omitted in certain embodiments, and one or more of LED chips 75-1 through 75-3, 76-1 through 76-3, 77-1 through 77-3, and 78-1 through 78-3 may act as a photodiode when scanned with a light beam during the initial setup procedure.

[0079]

[0148] FIG. 13 is a diagram of an LED display panel according to an embodiment disclosed herein. 1B is a block schematic diagram illustrating various components that may be included in a system-level control scheme for an LED display panel. In a particular embodiment, the components of the system-level control scheme may be included on the backside of the display panel, as previously described in FIG. 1B. During operation, an input signal is received by the LED display panel from an external video source. As previously described, the video source, such as VGA, DVI, HDMI, HUB75, USB, among others, is provided through an appropriate electrical connector. A signal decoder, such as a DVI / HDMI decoder, may be configured to provide conversion of the input signal to other formats, such as 24-bit transistor-to-transistor logic (TTL) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) color pixel data. For example, the signal decoder may convert the input signal into a 24-line data bus along with other control signals, such as a pixel clock, vertical sync, and horizontal sync, which are then routed to the control element. As previously described, the control element may comprise one or more of an ASIC, a microcontroller, a programmable control element, and a field-programmable gate array FPGA. For example, the control element may comprise an FPGA programmed to scale, offset, or otherwise convert converted data from the signal decoder and provide data buffering for the control lines that ultimately deliver various signals to the LED packages and corresponding LED pixels of the LED display panel. In certain embodiments, the control element is also configured to receive additional inputs used to convert the input signals. For example, the additional inputs may include horizontal and vertical panel position information for the LED display panel within a larger LED display. When multiple LED display panels are assembled together to form a larger LED display, each LED display panel may be configured with a unique position identifier that is relayed to the control element. The unique identifier, such as a serial number or position coordinates, may be pre-assigned before or during installation, or the unique identifier may simply be assigned by the order in which the LED display panels are connected when assembled.In the latter configuration, each of the LED display panels may be configured to communicate with each other via a shift register or the like, so that during installation, when the LED display panels are placed next to each other in a daisy-chain configuration, position information is relayed from one LED display panel to the next in the order in which they are installed, similar to HUB75-compatible panels. The additional input may also include a calibration table, such as a hash table, that provides information so that the control element can convert the input signal to compensate for any unequal performance characteristics among the LED chips of the LED display panel. For example, after assembly of the LED display panel, the intensity of all LED pixels may be measured, and the calibration table may then be configured to provide information to the control element to scale drive signals differently for different LED pixels based on their initial measured brightness levels.

[0080]

[0149] The control element thus receives the input signal via the signal decoder, as well as the panel position or The control element may be configured to receive additional inputs including calibration information. As previously described, the control element may comprise one or more integrated circuits of various types. In certain embodiments, the control element comprises an ASIC pre-configured for application in an LED display panel. In other embodiments, the control element comprises an FPGA providing the ability to be programmed and reprogrammed after installation. Accordingly, other supporting devices such as power inputs and regulators, programming interfaces, volatile and non-volatile memory elements, and the like are suggested. The control element is configured to process either input signals and additional input and output control signals sent to the active electrical elements of each of the LED pixels. In certain embodiments, multiple DACs may be arranged to convert signals from the control element before routing the signals to the LED pixels. The control element also determines whether each LED pixel and each LED chip within each LED pixel is The control elements may be configured to output row, column, and LED color selection information to the LED pixels that determines when to respond to control signals from the multiple DACs. In particular embodiments, one or more row, column, or color selection decoders may be configured to receive and convert the output row, column, and / or LED color selection information from the control elements before routing it to the LED pixels. For example, the control elements may comprise FPGAs that output digital signal codes of 0 and 1 for the row, column, or color selection information. Alternatively, the row, column, or color selection decoders may be configured to receive and decode digital signals so that active control elements of particular LED pixels in an LED display panel can be activated.

[0081]

[0150] For display applications, LED display panels use an array of LED pixels. The LED package may include a plurality of LED packages arranged in rows and columns to form a color display. Each of the LED packages may include one or more LED pixels including a first LED chip (e.g., a red LED chip), a second LED chip (e.g., a blue LED chip), and a third LED chip (e.g., a green LED chip), as previously described, and active electrical elements. Depending on the drive configuration between the control element and the LED packages, the number of control lines and the number of columns, rows, and color selection lines connected between the control element and each LED package may vary.

[0082]

[0151] FIG. 14 shows that the active electrical element 30 corresponding to a particular LED pixel is connected to a column select signal 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration configured to receive a column select signal and separate control signals for each of the red, green, and blue LED chips included within an LED pixel. In this regard, a column select signal activates each active electrical element 30 in a particular column of LED pixels, and each row of LED pixels is configured to receive three separate control signals for each of the red, green, and blue LED chips. The three separate control signals may correspond to three separate DAC or analog control signals per row. The control signals may control the brightness level or gray level for each of the red, green, and blue LED chips within a particular LED pixel. Thus, when a control signal is passed along a particular row, the column select signal determines which of the LED pixels corresponds to the signal. As previously described, the active electrical elements 30 corresponding to each LED pixel are configured to store red, green, and blue level signal information and drive the LED chips accordingly in a consistent manner until the active electrical elements 30 are next activated to refresh or update the signal information. 14, the active electrical element 30 is configured with connections to receive four different signal lines (column select, red level, green level, and blue level) in addition to the ground and voltage input connections. This configuration therefore requires at least six connections, increasing PCB routing complexity. In certain embodiments, it may be desirable to have fewer connections, such as the four-connection embodiment shown in the previous embodiment (e.g., FIG. 2E).

[0083]

[0152] FIG. 15 shows that an active electrical element 30 that corresponds to a particular LED pixel 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration configured to receive a separate column select signal line for each LED chip in an LED pixel, and a single color level signal line for all of the LED chips in the LED pixel. In FIG. 15, three separate column select signals (red column select, green column select, and blue column select) separately activate each of the red, green, and blue LED chips in the LED pixel. Thus, a single color level (e.g., a brightness level or gray level) may be provided for the red, green, and blue LED chips in the LED pixel. In this regard, each row may be configured with a single DAC, as previously described. In other embodiments, the active electrical element 30 may be configured to receive an optional row select line, thereby allowing a single DAC to provide color level signals for multiple rows of LED pixels. During operation, a particular column select signal responds to the color level signal at a particular time. 15 , active electrical elements 30 are configured with connections to receive four or five different signal lines (red column select, blue column select, green column select, color level, and optional row select) in addition to ground and voltage input connections. While overall system complexity is reduced by the reduction in DACs, the requirement for at least six connections may be undesirable in some applications.

[0084]

[0153] FIG. 16 shows that an active electrical element 30 that corresponds to a particular LED pixel 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration configured to receive coded column select signals for each LED chip in an LED pixel and a single color level signal line for all of the LED chips in the LED pixel. In FIG. 16, the color level and optional row select lines may be configured similarly to those previously described for FIG. 15, but the column select signals are reduced to two column select lines (column select RS0, column select RS1). In this regard, the column select lines are configured to provide coded digital signals (combinations of 0 and 1) that determine which LED chips should respond to a particular color level signal. As a non-limiting example, the two column select lines may provide a "00" digital signal corresponding to an operating state in which none of the LED chips should respond, a "01" digital signal corresponding to activation of a red LED chip, a "10" signal corresponding to activation of a blue LED chip, and an "11" signal corresponding to activation of a green LED chip. As in the previous embodiment, the active electrical element 30 is configured to store the color level signal information and, accordingly, consistently drive each of the LED chips until the active electrical element 30 is next activated to refresh or update the color level information. 16, active electrical element 30 is configured with connections for receiving three to four different signal lines (column select RS0, column select RS1, color level, and optional row select) in addition to ground and voltage input connections. The reduction of at least one connection therefore represents an improvement in reduced PCB complexity compared to the embodiments of FIGS. 14 and 15.

[0085]

[0154] FIG. 17 shows how the active electrical element 30 of a particular LED pixel is controlled by a column select signal, a color level 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration configured to receive a column select signal and one or more color select signals for the red, green, and blue LED chips included within the LED pixel. In FIG. 17, the column select signals are configured similarly to the configuration of FIG. 14, but the signals for each color level (e.g., brightness or gray level) of the LED chips are controlled by a single signal line. In this regard, each row may be configured with a single DAC, as previously described. In other embodiments, a single DAC may be configured to provide signals for color levels to multiple rows of LED pixels. To determine which of the LED chips within the LED pixel should respond to a particular color level signal, two color select lines (color select 0, color select 1) are configured to provide coded digital signals (a combination of 0s and 1s) that determine which LED chips should respond to a particular color level signal. As a non-limiting example, the two color select lines may provide a "00" digital signal corresponding to an operating state in which none of the LED chips should respond, a "01" digital signal corresponding to activation of a red LED chip, a "10" signal corresponding to activation of a blue LED chip, and an "11" signal corresponding to activation of a green LED chip. Thus, in the configuration of Figure 17, the active electrical element 30 is configured with connections for receiving four different signal lines (column select, color level, color select 0, color select 1) in addition to ground and voltage input connections.

[0086]

[0155] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration that is similar to the configurations of both FIGS. 16 and 17. In particular, FIG. 18 shows a non-configuration that can represent either the configuration of FIG. 16 or FIG. 17. 18 represents a notation of dependency. In FIG. 18, the active electrical element 30 includes color level lines that are the same as the color level lines in FIGS. 16 and 17. The active electrical element 30 of FIG. 18 further includes a device select (DS) line and two color select lines (CS0 and CS1). The DS line is configured to provide a device select signal, which may include at least one of a column select signal and a row select signal. The CS0 and CS1 lines are configured to provide coded signals that can correspond to either the column select RS0 and column select RS1 lines in FIG. 16 or the color select 0 and color select 1 lines in FIG. 17. In this regard, the active electrical element 30 may be configured to control a specific number of operating conditions using several connections. The DS line corresponds to either the row select line in FIG. 16 or the column select line in FIG. 17.

[0087]

[0156] FIG. 19 shows that an active electrical element 30 corresponding to a particular LED pixel is 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration configured to receive a single column select signal line and a single color level signal line for all LED chips in a pixel. In FIG. 19, the color level and optional row select lines may be configured similarly to those previously described for FIG. 15, but the column select signals are combined into a single column select line. In this regard, the single column select line may be configured to transmit coded signals corresponding separately to each of the LED chips in the LED pixel. The coded signals may include analog signals including at least one of a variable amplitude signal, a variable frequency signal, or a variable phase signal. The coded signals may also include multiplexed or multi-level logic signals. In certain embodiments, the column select line may be configured to provide signals at different voltage states corresponding to different LED chips. For example, the column select line may be configured as a four-level signal line, with four signal levels each corresponding to one of the following operating conditions: no LED chip selected, red LED selected, blue LED selected, and green LED selected. In certain embodiments, additional active electrical elements may be provided to further facilitate the processing of the four-level signal line. Additional active electrical elements may be provided within each LED package or separately from each LED package. As with the previous embodiment, the active electrical elements 30 are configured to store color level signal information and accordingly drive each of the LED chips in a consistent manner until the active electrical elements 30 are next activated to refresh or update the color level information. Thus, in the configuration of FIG. 19, the active electrical elements 30 are configured with connections for receiving two or three different signal lines (column select (multilevel), color level, and optional row select) in addition to ground and voltage input connections. This configuration is desirable for applications with reduced complexity, such as the previously described four-connection configuration (e.g., FIG. 2E).

[0088]

[0157] FIG. 20 shows that an active electrical element 30 that corresponds to a particular LED pixel FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration configured to receive a single column select signal line and a single color level signal line for all LED chips in a pixel. FIG. 20 is similar to the configuration of FIG. 19 and includes color level and optional row select lines, as previously described. In FIG. 20, the column select signal line may be configured to transmit a coded signal, such as an asynchronous coded digital signal, with portions of this signal corresponding separately to each LED chip in the LED pixel. In certain embodiments, the coded signal includes different pulses corresponding to red LED select, blue LED select, green LED select, and no LED select operating conditions. Other operating states may also be addressed by extending the coding scheme. In this manner, the active electrical element 30 may include a shift register that cycles through each operating state (e.g., no selection, red select, blue select, green select) using each pulse of the coded signal. To prevent the shift register from becoming out of sync, the coded signal may also include a pulse code at the end of each cycle to reset the shift register to the beginning of the next cycle. In addition to the sequential pulses, the column select lines may include other coded signals that identify and correspond to different ones of the four or more operating states mentioned above. Thus, in the configuration of FIG. Active electrical element 30 is configured with connections (e.g., contact pads 38 in FIG. 2A) for receiving two or three different signal lines (column select (coding), color level, and optional row select) in addition to ground and voltage input connections. Like the configuration of FIG. 19, the configuration of FIG. 20 is desirable for applications with reduced complexity, such as the previously described four-connection configuration (e.g., FIG. 2E).

[0089]

[0158] FIG. 21 illustrates a configuration in which each active electrical element of an LED pixel array is in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 21 is a block schematic illustrating a system-level control scheme for an LED display panel configured to receive signal lines such as: In FIG. 21 , input signals, signal decoders, control elements, column / row decoders, panel position inputs, calibration table inputs, and multiple DACs may be provided as previously described for FIG. 13 . In FIG. 21 , row select lines are not included, and optional DAC decoder elements are arranged to enable selection of the correct DAC elements to receive data provided by the common data bus. In other embodiments, the control elements may be configured to include DAC decoding capabilities, and thus DAC decoder elements may not be required. Depending on the number of output pins available on a particular FPGA or other control element, a separate column / color decoder may also not be required.

[0090]

[0159] FIG. 22 shows an LED panel configured for operation according to the configurations of FIGS. 20 and 21. 22 is a partial plan view illustrating a routing configuration for panel 112. In FIG. 22, multiple LED packages 26 are arranged in columns and rows to form an LED pixel array. Each LED package 26 may include multiple LEDs (e.g., 28-1 through 28-3 in FIG. 2) forming an LED pixel, an active electrical element (30 in FIG. 2), and multiple package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4, as previously described. As illustrated in FIG. 22, the multiple LED packages 26 are connected to multiple color level control lines 114-1 through 114-4, which correspond to the color level select lines in FIG. 20, and multiple column select control lines 116-1 through 116-3, which correspond to the column select lines in FIG. 20. For the LED package 26 labeled in FIG. 22, package bond pad 48-1 is connected to color level control line 114-1, and package bond pad 48-3 is connected to column select control line 116-3. The package bond pad 48-2 is connected to the voltage input line 118-1 of the plurality of voltage input lines 118-1 through 118-4, and the package bond pad 48-4 is connected to a ground connection plane (not shown). In certain embodiments, the plurality of color level control lines 114-1 through 114-4 and the plurality of column select control lines 116-1 through 116-3 may be disposed on different levels or planes of a multi-layer connector interface, with one or more dielectric layers disposed therebetween for electrical isolation. For example, the column select control lines 116-1 through 116-3 may be disposed along a first plane closest to the plurality of LED packages 26. The plurality of color level control lines 114-1 through 114-4 and the plurality of voltage input lines 118-1 through 118-4 may be disposed along a different plane at a significant distance from the plurality of LED packages 26. Finally, a ground connection plane (not shown) may be disposed along another different plane at a greater distance from the LED packages 26 than the color level control lines 114-1 through 114-4 and the voltage input lines 118-1 through 118-4. Vias 120 may be disposed through the multi-layer connector interface to provide corresponding connections with package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4.22 illustrates only one of many configurations for the routing configuration of LED panel 112. In other embodiments, the various lines 114-1 through 114-4, 116-1 through 116-3, and 118-1 through 118-4 may be provided in differently arranged vertical and horizontal configurations, including, but not limited to, all-vertical and all-horizontal configurations.

[0091]

[0160] FIG. 23 shows that the active electrical elements 30 corresponding to particular LED pixels are arranged in columns, rows, and / or a configuration configured to receive all-digital communication for a color selection signal. 1 is a schematic diagram of an active electrical element 30. In addition, bidirectional communication may be achieved via one of many standard or conventional protocols. Therefore, many additional tasks are enabled, such as communication handshaking, addressing, status reporting, and more extensive command structures. Stated differently, the active electrical element comprises a serial communication element. In this manner, the serial input / output lines are configured to provide digital signals to the active electrical element 30 according to one of a variety of serial communication link technologies. Serial communication technologies typically involve sequentially transmitting or streaming data in single bits over time. The optional clock input may be configured to receive a clock signal that provides cycling information for the LED pixels. In certain embodiments, serial communication (e.g., transmission or reception) may involve high bit rates using differential signaling, including, but not limited to, low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), transition-minimum differential signaling (TDMS), current-mode logic (CML), and source-coupled logic (SCL). In this regard, the active electrical element 30 may be configured to receive optional differential input / output lines and optional clock differential input / output lines. Certain serial communication technologies may be configured with a self-clocking configuration or a configuration for receiving a self-clocking signal, and therefore may not require a clock input. Such self-clocking configurations may include decoder elements within the active electrical elements that include various decoding capabilities for clock recovery, such as 8b / 10b encoding, Manchester coding, phase coding, pulse counting with or without a timed reset, isochronous signal coding, or non-isochronous signal coding. Other communication technologies include, among others, inter-integrated circuit (IC) (IIC) 2C) protocol, I3C protocol, Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), Ethernet, Fibre Channel (FC), Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE 1394 or FireWire, HyperTransport (HT), InfiniBand (IB), Digital Multiplex (DMX), DC-BUS or other power line communication protocols, Avionics Digital Video Bus (ADVB), Serial Input / Output (SIO), Controller Area Network (CAN), ccTalk protocol, CoaXPress (CXP), Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), MIL-STD-1553, Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI Express), Profibus, RS-232, RS-422, RS-423, RS-485, Serial Digital Interface (SDI), Serial AT Attachment (Serial ATA), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), SpaceWire, UNI / O bus, and 1-Wire. In some configurations, the active control element 30 is 2The active electrical elements 30 are configured to operate (e.g., transmit or receive) using at least a subset of signals compatible with one of the above protocols, including, but not limited to, the C protocol. When configured for all-digital communication, the active electrical elements 30 are configured to latch input data, perform other logic, and provide color or gray levels to the LED pixels of the display. In certain embodiments, the active electrical elements 30 may comprise DAC-controlled current drivers, where one or more DACs are included within the active electrical elements 30 having current-drive outputs. In certain embodiments, the active electrical elements 30 comprise PWM drivers or current sources configured to independently drive each LED of the LED pixels based on a digital input signal. When the active electrical elements 30 are configured for all-digital communication, routing of the LED pixel array may be simplified. In this regard, in certain embodiments, each active electrical element 30 may only need to be configured to receive one communication or signal line, such as a serial input / output line illustrated in FIG. 23.

[0092]

[0161] FIG. 24 shows a configuration in which each active electrical element of an LED pixel array is in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 2. A system-level LED display panel configured to receive a signal line FIG. 24 is a block schematic diagram illustrating a panel control scheme. In FIG. 24, input signals, signal decoders, panel position inputs, and calibration table inputs may be provided as previously described for FIG. 13. In certain embodiments, the control element includes one or more serial communication interfaces or elements, as previously described. Therefore, a DAC element is not required, thereby providing a simplified configuration compared to the block diagram of FIG. 21. Depending on the number of output pins available on a particular FPGA or other control element, a separate column / color decoder may also not be required. As illustrated, the output of the control element may communicate directly to the LED array using multiple serial outputs in communication with multiple serial lines or strings of LEDs in the LED array. In FIG. 24, each string of LEDs is shown with two rows for illustrative purposes. In practice, the strings of LEDs may be arranged in columns and rows of different sizes and numbers, or the electrical connections of each string may not follow the columns and rows as shown.

[0093]

[0162] FIG. 25 is a circuit diagram for an LED panel configured for operation according to the configuration of FIG. 25 is a partial plan view illustrating a routing configuration. In FIG. 25, multiple LED packages 26 are arranged in columns and rows to form an LED pixel array. Each LED package 26 may include multiple LEDs (e.g., 28-1 through 28-3 in FIG. 2) forming an LED pixel, an active electrical element (e.g., 30 in FIG. 2), and multiple package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4, as previously described. In this configuration, control lines 116-1 through 116-4 correspond to the serial input / output lines, first and second voltage input lines 118-1 through 118-4 and 120-1 through 120-4 in FIG. 23, and the illustrated ground connection lines 122-1 through 122-4. As illustrated, color level control lines (e.g., 114-1 through 114-4 in FIG. 22) from the DAC are not required, thereby providing a simplified PCB routing configuration. 25, the input electrical connections, including control lines 116-1 through 116-4, voltage lines 118-1 through 118-4, 120-1 through 120-4, and ground lines 122-1 through 122-4, are all located along the same plane or layer of the LED panel. This configuration results in a simpler construction and manufacturing process, as well as reduced costs. In other embodiments, the control lines 116-1 through 116-4, voltage lines 118-1 through 118-4, 120-1 through 120-4, and ground lines 122-1 through 122-4 may be arranged on different planes with different arrangements of dielectric layers and vias to create various connections to each LED package 26. 25, the control lines 116-1 through 116-4, the voltage lines 118-1 through 118-4, 120-1 through 120-4, and the ground lines 122-1 through 122-4 are illustrated as long linear segments spanning the LED panel. In certain embodiments, the control lines 116-1 through 116-4, the voltage lines 118-1 through 118-4, 120-1 through 120-4, and the ground lines 122-1 through 122-4 may be arranged in other configurations, such as comb routing or other chain configurations that may reduce crosstalk between various lines. In certain embodiments, the control lines 116-1 through 116-4, the voltage lines 118-1 through 118-4, 120-1 through 120-4, and the ground lines 122-1 through 122-4 may not be registered to particular columns and rows of the LED packages 26.For example, control lines 116-1 through 116-4, voltage lines 118-1 through 118-4, 120-1 through 120-4, and ground lines 122-1 through 122-4 may be configured to connect and communicate with subgroups of LED packages 26 arranged in blocks or other configurations across the LED panel.

[0094]

[0163] In certain embodiments, the control element and the LED package of the LED display Signal communication between the LED packages may include transmitting control signals from the control element that include multiple data packets. A particular data packet may include control information such as color selection data and brightness level data for individual LED packages of the array. In certain embodiments, the data packets may include file sizes that range from as little as a single bit of data to much larger file sizes (e.g., large video files). Each data packet also includes a command code that each LED package of the array receives. , may include a command code configured as an identifier or a series of identifiers that enables the LED package to either respond to the data packet or pass the data packet on to the next LED package. In this way, the LED packages may be arranged to receive different data packets in a cascading manner from the control signal.

[0095]

[0164] 26A and 26B are diagrams illustrating exemplary devices according to embodiments disclosed herein. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement of a data packet 124. The data packet 124 is included in a data stream 126 transmitted over control lines from the control element 18 to the active electrical elements 30 of the LED package 26. In certain embodiments, the data stream 126 may include multiple data streams, including a cascaded approach in which the data stream 126 includes multiple sub-data streams. In certain embodiments, the LED package 26 forms one or more pixels (e.g., 12 in FIG. 1A ), as previously described. There may be additional LED packages disposed before or after the LED package 26 that are configured to receive the data stream 126. In this manner, the LED package 26 may receive the data packet 124 directly from the control element 18 or, in the data stream 126, through another LED package disposed between the control element 18 and the LED package 26. The data packet 124 may include information or data selections (denoted “Data”) for selecting and operating one or more LED chips of the LED package 26, including separate color selection and brightness level data for each LED chip disposed within the LED package 26. The information or data may also include setup data, calibration data, temperature compensation data, and option selection data, among others. Additionally, the data packet 124 may include instructions for turning on or off one or more LED chips in the LED package 26. In certain embodiments, at least a portion of the information or data from the data packet 124 may be stored in a register within the LED package 26 for later use. For applications in which the LED package 26 forms one or more LED pixels including multiple LED chips (e.g., red, green, and blue LED chips), the information or data may include a data subset corresponding to each of the LED chips. The data packet 124 may also include a section containing a command code (denoted “Command”) configured as an identifier or series of identifiers for the data packet 124 that identifies how the active electrical element 30 should respond to the data packet 124.In particular, the command code is configured to identify an action to be performed by the active electrical element 30. In certain embodiments, the action includes passing the data packet 124 through the LED package 26 or transmitting or retransmitting the data packet 124 through an output port of the LED package 26. In certain embodiments, the action includes performing an internal action within the LED package 26, such as driving one or more of the LED chips within the LED package 26 and transmitting the data packet 124 through the LED package 26. As used herein, an internal action for the LED package 26 may include setting or changing a persistent state over a time frame defined by the data packet 124 or any other associated data packet over a given time frame. The persistent state may include one or more of turning one or more LED chips on or off, changing the color or brightness level of the LED chips, or setting or updating calibration data, among others. In certain embodiments, the action includes driving one or more of the LED chips within the LED package 26 without transmitting the data packet 124 through the LED package 26. In certain embodiments, the action includes transmitting the data packet 124 without performing any other action within the LED package 26. Such action may be based at least in part on one or more other data packets previously received by the LED package 26. In further embodiments, the action may include transmitting the data packet 124 without performing any other action within the LED package 26. The other data packet, or the second data packet, may include a second command code identifying a second action to perform, the second action including transmitting the second data packet through the LED package 26. In other embodiments, the second action includes activating one or more of the LED chips in the LED package 26 and transmitting the second data packet through the LED package 26. In this manner, the data packet 124 is configured with self-identification. In certain embodiments, the data packet 124 may include information configured to provide a data handshake with another LED package in the data stream 126. The data handshake capability may include a start of packet section (denoted "BOP") and / or end of packet section (denoted "EOP") of the data packet 124 so that the LED package 26 can recognize the receipt and / or transfer of the data packet 124. In certain embodiments, the data stream 126 may include a blank section (denoted "Space"), which is a period of no data or an empty transmission period, located before or after the data packet 124 in the data stream 126. The periods of no data transmission may be configured to control communication speeds and prevent buffer overload of control signals for the LED packages 26. For example, data overload may occur when multiple LED packages 26 with different communication speeds or clock configurations are configured to receive different data packets from the data stream 126 in a cascaded manner. Therefore, periods of no data transmission may be provided to ensure that communication effectively occurs at a controlled or slower rate to avoid or reduce buffer overload. Periods of no data transmission may also be configured to signal a reset or restart condition or a next frame condition. Periods of no data transmission may also be configured at different locations relative to the data packet 124, such as after the data packet 124 as illustrated in FIG. 26A or before the data packet 124 as illustrated in FIG. 26B.In certain embodiments, the data packet 124 may include other commands, such as basic on or off instructions for the corresponding LED package 26 .

[0096]

[0165] FIG. 27 shows a diagram of a control element 18 connected to a plurality of LED packages 26-1, 26-2, . . . 2 Multiple data packets DP1, DP2…DP to 6-n n 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cascaded flow of LEDs. In certain embodiments, any number (n) of LED packages may be provided to form an LED display. As illustrated, the control element 18 generates a plurality of data packets DP1, DP2, ... DP n along the data stream 126 to the plurality of LED packages 26-1, 26-2, . . . 26-n. n Each of the groups of data packets (e.g., DP1, DP2, . . . DP) may be configured, for example, as described for data packet 124 of FIG. 26A or 26B. n , DP1, DP2, . . . DP2) are data packets DP1, DP2, . . . DP2 received by a particular LED package 26-1, 26-2, . . . 26-n. n , 128-n. For example, data set 128-1 may form one of a plurality of data sets 128-1, 128-2, . . . , 128-n corresponding to a particular group of data packets DP1, DP2, . . . DP received by the first LED package 26-1. n , and data set 128-2 corresponds to a group of data packets DP2...DP n , etc. In certain embodiments, a particular data packet (e.g., the first data packet DP1) is configured for a corresponding LED package (e.g., the first LED package 26-1). In this manner, the data packets DP1, DP2, . . . DP nis received by the first LED package 26-1, which performs an action based on the first command code of the first data packet DP1, removes the first data packet DP1 from the data stream 126, and replaces the data packets DP2...DP n 26-1 to the adjacent LED package 26-2. The ED package 26-2 performs the action, removes the data packet DP2, and removes the remaining data packet DP n This sequence is configured to pass or retransmit the remaining data packets DP of the data set 128-n. n is received by the remaining LED packages 26-n. For a particular display application, each of the LED packages 26-1, 26-2...26-n will transmit their corresponding data packets DP1, DP2...DP1 until the control element 18 transmits a new data set 128-1 for the corresponding LED package 26-1, 26-2...26-n. nIn certain embodiments, the control element 18 may be configured to provide a portion of the data stream 126, such as a bit pattern / code or transmission delay, that indicates to the LED packages 26-1, 26-2, ..., 26-n that the previous data set 128-1, 128-2, ..., 128-n is complete and to seek the next data set 128-1, 128-2, ..., 128-n. In the case of a transmission delay between different data sets 128-1, 128-2, ..., 128-n, the time delay may range from 1 microsecond to 0.1 seconds, providing a sufficient timeout for the LED packages 26-1, 26-2, ..., 26-n to begin seeking the next data set 128-1, 128-2, ..., 128-n. In the case of an LED display application, each data set 128-1, 128-2, ..., 128-n may correspond to a data frame or video frame for the LED display. In other LED applications, each data set 128-1, 128-2... 128-n may correspond to an operating state, such as a general illumination color point and / or brightness level, or a static image to be collectively provided by the LED packages 26-1, 26-2... 26-n. In certain embodiments, the first data packet DP1 configured for the first LED package 26-1 may include the same data length as the second data packet DP2. In other embodiments, the first data packet DP1 may include a data length greater than the data length of the second data packet DP2 to transfer more information to the first LED package 26-1, such as color selection data, brightness level data, setup data, calibration data, temperature compensation data, and / or option selection data.

[0097]

[0166] FIG. 28 shows a diagram of a control element 18 connected to a plurality of LED packages 26-1, 26-2, . . . 2 Multiple data packets DP1, DP2…DP to 6-n n and one or more talkback data packets TB1, TB2...TB to the control element 18. n27. The control element 18 and the data stream 126 are configured to process data packets DP1, DP2, . . . DP as described with respect to FIG. n 28, the first LED package 26-1 is configured to receive and remove the first data packet DP1 from the data stream 126 and subsequently perform actions to replace the first data packet DP1 with a first talkback data packet TB1 in the data stream 126 exiting the first LED package 26-1. Similarly, the remaining LED packages 26-2...26-n receive and remove the corresponding data packets DP2...DP1 from the data stream 126 exiting the first LED package 26-1. n and subsequently combines them into the corresponding talkback data packets TB2...TB n The talkback data packets TB1, TB2, . . . TB n may then form a data set 128-c configured to communicate information about the LED packages 26-1, 26-2... 26-n back to the control element 18 for monitoring. n The control element 18 transmits talkback data packets TB1, TB2, . . . TB n , TB1, TB2, TB3, TB4, TB5, TB6, TB7, TB8, TB9, TB10, TB11, TB12, TB13, TB14, TB15, TB16, TB17, TB18, TB19, TB20, TB21, TB22, TB23, TB24, TB25, TB26, TB27, TB28, TB29, TB30, TB31, TB32, TB33, TB34, TB35, TB36, TB37, TB38, TB39, TB40, TB41, TB42, TB43, TB44, TB45, TB46, TB47, TB48, TB49, TB50, TB51, TB52, TB53, TB54, TB55, TB56, TB57, TB58, TB59, TB60, TB61, TB62, TB63, TB64, TB65, TB66, TB67, TB68, TB69, TB70, TB71, TB72, TB73, TB74, TB75, TB76, TB77, TB78, TB79, TB80, TB81, TB82, TB83, TB84, TB85, TB86, TB87, TB88, TB89, TB90, TB91, TB92, TB93, TB94, TB95, TB96, TB97, TB98, TB99, TB100, TB110, TB111, TB120 n is also configured to provide data checksum parity or other data validation to the control element 18. In such an embodiment, the data packets DP1, DP2, . . . DP n, TB1, TB2, . . . TB3 are transmitted to the active electrical elements 30 of the corresponding LED packages 26-1, 26-2, . . . 26-n via talkback data packets TB1, TB2, . . . TB4, TB5, TB6, TB7, TB8, TB9, TB10, TB11, TB12, TB13, TB14, TB15, TB16, TB17, TB18, TB19, TB20, TB21, TB22, TB23, TB24, TB25, TB26, TB27, TB28, TB29, TB30, TB31, TB32, TB33, TB34, TB35, TB36, TB37, TB38, TB39, TB40, n , DP1, DP2, DP3, DP4, DP5, DP6, DP7, DP8, DP9, DP10, DP11, DP12, DP13, DP14, DP15, DP16, DP17, DP18, DP19, DP20, DP21, DP22, DP23, DP24, DP25, DP26, DP27, DP28, DP29, DP30, DP31, DP32, DP33, DP34, DP35, DP36, DP37, DP38, DP39, DP40, DP41, DP42, DP43, DP44, DP45, DP46, DP47, DP48, DP49, DP50, DP51, DP52, DP53, DP54, DP55, DP56, DP57, DP58, DP59, DP60, DP61, DP62, DP63, DP64, DP65, DP66, DP67, DP68, DP69, DP70, DP71, DP72, DP73, DP74, DP75, DP76, DP77, DP78, DP79, DP80, DP81, DP82, DP83, DP84, DP85, DP86, DP87, DP88, DP89, DP90, DP91, DP92, DP93, DP94, DP95, DP96, DP97, DP98, DP99, DP100, DP99, DP101, DP1102 n , one or more of the talkback data packets TB1, TB2, ... TB n ) into the data stream 126.

[0098]

[0167] FIG. 29 illustrates LED packages 26-1, 26-2 receiving a data stream 126. A data packet DP configured to provide information to all of 6-2...26-n ALL-1 , D.P. ALL-2 a plurality of data packets DP1, DP2, . . . DP from the control element 18, n 27. The control element 18 and the data stream 126 are configured to process the data packets DP1, DP2, ... DP n , 26-n. In a particular embodiment, the data sets 128-1, 128-2, ..., 128-n are provided to the LED packages 26-1, 26-2, ..., 26-n in a data packet DP configured as a common or broadcast data packet for all of the LED packages 26-1, 26-2, ..., 26-n. ALL-1 , D.P. ALL-2 In this regard, the first LED package 26-1 further includes one or more of the data packet DP ALL-1 , D.P. ALL-2 and responds to the data packet DP along the data stream 126. ALL-1 , D.P.ALL-2 , so that the remaining LED packages 26-2...26-n may also receive and respond accordingly. ALL-1 , D.P. ALL-2 , instructs all of the LED packages 26-1, 26-2, ... 26-n to turn on or off or provide a brightness level for all of the LED packages 26-1, 26-2, ... 26-n in response to user input or ambient light sensing. ALL-1 , D.P. ALL-2 , TB1, TB2, . . . TB3, TB4, TB5, TB6, TB7, TB8, TB9, TB10, TB11, TB12, TB13, TB14, TB15, TB16, TB17, TB18, TB19, TB20, TB21, TB22, TB23, TB24, TB25, TB2 n In a particular embodiment, the same data set 128-1, 128-2, . . . 128-n may be provided in the first data packet DP ALL-1 and the second data packet DP ALL-2 , each of which instructs the LED packages 26-1, 26-2 . . . 26-n to turn on. ALL-1 , and DP which provides a common brightness setting for LED packages 26-1, 26-2...26-n ALL-2 29, the data packet DP ALL-1 , D.P. ALL-2 are illustrated at the beginning and end of the data sets 128-1, 128-2 . . . 128-n, but in other embodiments, the data packets DP ALL-1 , D.P. ALL-2 may be located anywhere within the data sets 128-1, 128-2, ... 128-n. In a particular embodiment, the data packet DP ALL-1 , D.P. ALL-2 may be retransmitted through LED package 26-n to form data set 128-c that is received by control element 18.

[0099]

[0168] FIG. 30 shows at least one of the LED packages 26-1, 26-2, . . . 26-n. a plurality of data packets DP1, DP2, . . . DP from the control element 18, further including one or more subsequent data packets CDP2 configured to provide additional information to the n 27 is a schematic diagram illustrating the cascading flow of the control element 18. So, the data packets DP1, DP2...DP n30 ) to LED packages 26-1, 26-2, ... 26-n. In certain embodiments, data sets 128-1, 128-2, ... 128-n further include a follow-up data packet CDP2 configured to provide additional data or information to at least one of LED packages 26-1, 26-2, ... 26-n (e.g., the second LED package 26-2 in FIG. 30 ). In this regard, follow-up data packet CDP2 is positioned after data packet DP2 and before data packet DP3 within data sets 128-1, 128-2, ... 128-n of data stream 126. Additionally, the command code of follow-up data packet CDP2 may be configured to remove and respond to follow-up data packet CDP2 after the first LED package 26-1 passes on follow-up data packet CDP2 and the second LED package 26-2 removes and responds to data packet DP2. In certain embodiments, subsequent data packet CDP2 includes color selection data and / or brightness level data that may be additional to the color selection data and / or brightness level data received from data packet DP2. In certain embodiments, subsequent data packet CDP2 includes at least one of setup data, option selection data, and calibration data. For example, in certain embodiments, the active electrical elements 30 of one or more of LED packages 26-1, 26-2...26-n may be configured without flash memory, and subsequent data packet CDP2 as disclosed herein may be configured to provide one or more transfer functions following a reset or initial start-up condition. The transfer functions may include temperature compensation information, gamma functions, and the like.

[0100]

[0169] According to embodiments disclosed herein, the plurality of LED packages may include: The LED packages may be arranged serially to receive a cascading stream of data packets. A plurality of LED packages may form an array of LED packages, which may form at least a portion of an LED display panel, an LED sign panel, or a general lighting panel. In such embodiments, one or more of the LED packages may include active electrical elements, as previously described, that receive and perform actions on one or more of the data packets. In certain embodiments, the array of LED packages may be arranged on the panel in a serpentine arrangement configured to provide a cascading stream of data packets while providing reduced footprint electrical routing or traces between the LED packages.

[0101]

[0170] FIG. 31 illustrates a LE configured for operation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. FIG. 31 is a partial plan view illustrating a routing configuration for a D-panel 130. In FIG. 31, multiple LED packages 26 are arranged in columns and rows to form an LED pixel array. Each LED package 26 may include multiple LEDs (e.g., 28-1 through 28-3 in FIG. 2) forming LED pixels, an active electrical element (e.g., 30 in FIG. 2), and multiple package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4, as previously described. In FIG. 31, the package bond pads 48-1, 48-3 of each LED package 26 are configured as communication ports for transmitting and receiving a cascaded stream of data packets of a data stream. In particular, each package bond pad 48-3 is pre-assigned as an input port (designated "DIN" for data in) for the data stream, and each package bond pad 48-1 is pre-assigned as an output port (designated "DOUT" for data out) for the data stream. Each package bond pad 48-2 is configured as a voltage port (VDD), and each package bond pad 48-4 is configured as a ground port (GND). In this manner, a data stream may be received at package bond pad 48-3 of an LED package 26 in the lower right corner (designated "INPUT") of LED panel 130. At least a portion of the data stream is then transmitted to the LED package 26 via package bond pad 48-1. The data streams may exit the LED package 26 and be received by an adjacent LED package 26. Multiple communication bus lines 132-1 through 132-3 for the data streams are arranged to connect the package bond pad 48-1 of one LED package 26 with the package bond pad 48-3 of the next LED package 26. In certain embodiments, the communication bus lines 132-1 through 132-3 are configured to sequentially connect the LED packages 26 in a serpentine fashion. In FIG. 31 , the communication bus lines 132-1 through 132-3 sequentially connect the LED packages 26 from right to left across the last column of the LED panel 130, and from left to right across the next column up from the last column. This sequence is repeated for each additional column of the LED panel 130 to form a serpentine arrangement. Depending on the alternating direction of the serial connections from row to row, different ones of the communication bus lines 132-1 through 132-3 may include different lengths to make connections between package bond pads 48-1 and 48-3 of the serially connected LED packages 26. For example, communication bus line 132-1 may include a shorter length and alternate from row to row with communication bus line 132-3 having a longer length. As illustrated, communication bus line 132-2 is positioned to connect one row to another and may include the same or similar length as communication bus line 132-1. In this manner, all of the communication bus lines 132-1 through 132-3 may be located on the same layer or plane of the LED panel 130 while providing serial connections for data streams to the LED packages 26. Although not shown, at least some power connections for the LED packages 26 may be located on a different layer or plane than the communication bus lines 132-1 through 132-3.

[0102]

[0171] FIG. 32 illustrates a selectively assignable 32 is a partial plan view illustrating a routing configuration for an LED panel 134 including LED packages 26 with single- or bidirectional communication ports. In FIG. 32, multiple LED packages 26 are arranged and connected in serpentine rows and columns to form an LED pixel array. Each LED package 26 may include multiple LEDs (e.g., 28-1 through 28-3 in FIG. 2) forming LED pixels, an active electrical element (e.g., 30 in FIG. 2), and multiple package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4, as previously described. In FIG. 32, package bond pad 48-2 (VDD) and package bond pad 48-4 (GND) are configured similarly to FIG. 32, while package bond pads 48-1 (D2), 48-3 (D1) of each LED package 26 are configured as communication ports for transmitting and receiving a cascaded stream of data packets of a data stream. As illustrated, each of the package bond pads 48-1 is located in the upper left corner of each LED package 26, and each of the package bond pads 48-3 is located in the lower right corner of each LED package 26, similar to FIG. 31. In FIG. 32, the package bond pads 48-1, 48-3 are configured as selectively assignable communication ports based on how the communication bus lines 132-1 through 132-3 are arranged to input and output data streams through each of the LED packages 26. In this regard, the communication bus lines 132-1 through 132-3 may be arranged to input or output data streams from either of the package bond pads 48-1, 48-3 of each LED package 26.Upon power-up or after a reset of the LED panel 134, when a particular LED package 26 initially receives a data stream, active electrical elements of the LED package 26 are configured to identify a first of the first and second communication ports (e.g., one of the package bond pads 48-1, 48-3) that receives an input signal from the data stream and selectively assign the first of the first and second communication ports as an input port and the second of the first and second communication ports (e.g., the other of the package bond pads 48-1, 48-3) as an output port. In this manner, the package bond pads 48-1, 48-3 may be configured as bidirectional communication ports within each LED package 26. Accordingly, a particular LED package 26 may select which package bond pad is assigned as an input port. While one LED package 26 may have package bond pads 48-1 assigned as output ports, other LED packages 26 within the same LED panel 134 may have package bond pads 48-1 assigned as output ports. In certain embodiments, the active electrical elements of each LED package 26 may include circuitry configured to selectively assign input and output communication portions. For example, the active electrical elements may include circuitry including tri-state buffers, such that the active electrical elements may assign input and output ports within a register when an input communication signal is received. By providing such selectively assignable communication ports, the routing of communication bus lines 132-1 through 132-3 between LED packages 26 may be simplified with reduced length, thereby resulting in lower costs and enabling higher resolution for the LED panel 134.

[0103]

[0172] FIG. 33 illustrates a selectively assignable communication channel according to an embodiment disclosed herein. 33 is a partial plan view illustrating another routing configuration for an LED panel 136 including a plurality of LED packages 26 with communication ports. In FIG. 33, the plurality of LED packages 26 are arranged and connected in serpentine columns and rows to form an LED pixel array. Each LED package 26 may include a plurality of LEDs (e.g., 28-1 through 28-3 in FIG. 2) forming an LED pixel, an active electrical element (e.g., 30 in FIG. 2), and a plurality of package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4, as previously described. In FIG. 33, some of the package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4 are provided in a different arrangement than the illustration in FIG. 32. In particular, package bond pad 48-1 is configured as a ground port (GND) in FIG. 33, package bond pad 48-2 remains a voltage port (VDD), and package bond pads 48-3 (D1), 48-4 (D2) are configured as selectively assignable communication ports. In this manner, the selectively assignable communication ports are positioned closer to each other within the same LED package 26 and closer to the selectively assignable communication ports of adjacent LED packages 26. Accordingly, the communication bus lines 132-1, 132-2 may be further simplified with reduced length between the LED packages 26. In particular, the communication bus line 132-1 may form a straight line between adjacent LED packages 26 along each row of the LED panel 136. The longer communication bus line 132-2 connects one row to another and is positioned around the periphery of the LED panel 136.

[0104]

[0173] FIG. 34 illustrates a voltage line 118 and a ground line according to an embodiment disclosed herein. FIG. 34 is a partial plan view illustrating a routing configuration for the LED panel 136 of FIG. 33 with the addition of communication bus lines 132-1, 132-2. By having multiple LED packages 26 with one or more selectively assignable communication ports (e.g., one or more of package bond pads 48-1 through 48-4), the simplified routing arrangement for communication lines 132-1, 132-2 enables a simplified routing arrangement for voltage lines 118 and ground lines 122 of the LED panel 136. In particular, such a routing configuration enables communication lines 132-1, 132-2, voltage lines 118, and ground lines 122 to all be located on the same layer or plane of the LED panel 136. In certain applications, it may be beneficial for one or more of the voltage lines 118 or ground lines 122 to be located on a different plane than the communication bus lines 132-1, 132-2 to improve power distribution, reduce voltage droop from trace resistance, and reduce noise from crosswalk and other sources. In particular embodiments, the communication bus lines 132-1, 132-2 and the voltage line 118 may be disposed on a first layer or plane of the LED panel 136, and the ground line 122 may be disposed on a second layer or plane of the LED panel 136 with electrical vias connecting the ground line 122 to the package bond pads 48-1 of each LED package 26. A subset distribution on the second layer or plane of the LED panel 136 may be provided to reduce the number of electrical vias.

[0105]

[0174] In each of FIGS. 31 to 34, the LED package 26 includes four packages. 31-34 , the LED packages 26 may include additional package bond pads. In certain embodiments, the LED packages 26 may have at least two additional package bond pads configured to provide clock signals in and out to provide synchronization or other timing sequences for the LED packages 26. In certain embodiments, serially connected LED packages 26 may be configured with a self-clocking configuration or a configuration for receiving a self-clocking signal, and thus, a clock input may not be required. In certain embodiments, the additional package bond pads may be configured to receive additional voltage inputs for power conservation. For example, one or more red LED chips in an LED package 26 may run at a lower voltage using a different voltage input than one or more blue or green LED chips in the same LED package 26. Additionally, one or more logic circuit arrangements in the active electrical element 30 may run at a lower voltage using a different voltage input.

[0106]

[0175] As used herein, the serially connected LED packages 26 The data packet DP may be configured with a degree or other compensation, calibration, correction, or transfer function capability. Such capabilities or techniques may include one or more look-up tables, calculations based on transfer coefficients, or a combination of look-up tables and transfer coefficient calculations to provide a piecewise continuous transfer function. In certain embodiments, the data packet DP, the subsequent data packet CDP, or the common or broadcast data packet DP ALLOne or more of may include command codes configured to prompt active electrical elements in one or more of the LED packages 26 to enable communication from such lookup tables and / or transmission coefficient calculations to a single LED package 26, a subgroup of LED packages 26, or all of the LED packages 26 in the data stream 126.

[0107]

[0176] As disclosed herein, receiving data from a data stream Disclosed is an LED package including an active electrical element configured to perform one or more actions at least in part in response to received data. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element may perform one or more actions based on a command identified by data received from a data stream in combination with one or more of a current state of the LED package or a previous command received by the active electrical element.

[0108]

[0177] FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a semiconductor device for an active electrical element according to an embodiment disclosed herein. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating various inputs and corresponding actions of an active electrical element 30. As illustrated, active electrical element 30 is configured to receive input data stream 126A and act according to various inputs and internal states 138-1 through 138-n, which are used to identify data stream 126A and one or more corresponding actions 140-1 through 140-n to perform. In particular, one or more inputs and internal states 138-1 through 138-n are received by control logic 141 of active electrical element 30. One or more inputs or internal states 138-1 through 138-n include a current state 138-1 of active electrical element 30 (and corresponding LED package 26), a current command 138-2 corresponding to a command code received from a current portion of input data stream 126A, a previous command 138-3 corresponding to a previous command code received from a previous portion of input data stream 126A, and one or more additional inputs (... 138-n). The current state 138-1 may include reset or start-up conditions for the active electrical elements 30, such as resetting registers to an initial state. If the LED package 26 is configured with a bidirectional communication port, the initial state may include resetting the bidirectional communication port to look for an input signal. The current state 138-1 may also include waiting for data input from one or more communication ports. After receiving data from the input data stream 126A, the current state 138-1 may include maintaining the operating conditions of the LED package 26 or implementing a common or broadcast command and any corresponding continuing data commands. Upon receiving the current command 138-2, the control logic 141 of the active electrical element 30 may then identify one or more actions 140-1 through 140-n to perform based on one or more combinations of the control logic 141 inputs and the internal states 138-1 through 138-n, and may include changing the current state 138-1. One or more actions 140-1 through 140-n may include transmitting or retransmitting data 140-1 from input data stream 126A to output data stream 126B, transmitting LED data 140-2, such as a talkback packet, to output data stream 126B, or any number of other actions 140-3, 140-4, ... 140-n, including energizing LED chips or other elements of LED package 26, turning on or off the output of LED package 26, sending data to a calibration register according to received input data stream 126A, identifying and assigning bidirectional communication ports of LED package 26 as different ones of input and output ports, changing the data rate according to input or output data stream 126A / 126B, implementing a particular set of options for LED package 26, or changing the drive conditions of LED package 26. In this regard, the active electrical element 30 may comprise a finite state machine configured to identify and perform an action based on one or more finite or current states of the current or previous input commands and the LED package 26 .

[0109]

[0178] FIG. 36 illustrates a finite state machine 142 according to an embodiment disclosed herein.35 is a schematic diagram illustrating an active electrical element 30. The active electrical element 30 may be configured through any number of states 144-1 through 144-4, corresponding to current state 138-1 of FIG. 35. The power-up or reset state 144-1 may include an initial state for resetting registers and communication ports to an initial state. After the power-up or reset state 144-1, the active electrical element 30 may proceed to a communication port setup state 144-2, where the active electrical element 30 waits for data input from a data stream. Upon receiving the data input, the active electrical element 30 may assign input and output ports for the corresponding LED packages. Depending on command codes received from various input signals, the active electrical element 30 may advance to one of command states 144-3 and 144-4. The command state 144-3 corresponds to implementing and / or maintaining the operating conditions of the individual LED packages of the active electrical element 30 in accordance with the received command code. Command state 144-4 corresponds to implementing and / or maintaining common or broadcast operating conditions for all LED packages in the data stream. In normal operation, active electrical element 30 may advance from startup or reset state 144-1 to communication port setup state 144-2 before advancing and cycling between command states 144-3, 144-4 according to various command codes received along with other conditions, such as timeout conditions. As illustrated, all of the various states 144-1 through 144-4 may loop back to themselves until a condition or command is provided to change active electrical element 30 to another of the various states 144-1 through 144-4. In certain embodiments, a command or condition may change one of the various states 144-1 through 144-4 to another of the various states 144-1 through 144-4, as indicated by the dashed lines between different ones of the various states 144-1 through 144-4. Although only four states 144-1 through 144-4 are illustrated, the active electrical elements 30 and finite state machines 142 may have additional states in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. 1 is provided as a high-level conceptual diagram of the basic operation of the electrical element 30. It should be understood that the same operation can represent many different ways, such as combining command states into one and demoting a first command condition to a subordinate state. In certain embodiments, all states 144-1 through 144-4 may be configured with one or more timeout conditions that cause a particular state 144-1 through 144-4 to change to a previous one of states 144-1 through 144-4, which may ultimately force a reset condition. In this regard, the active electrical element 30 may avoid becoming stuck in an unresponsive state 144-1 through 144-4.

[0110]

[0179] In certain embodiments disclosed herein, the LED package includes an LED The LED panel includes an active electrical element configured to detect adverse operating conditions or corresponding error signals from one or more LEDs in the package. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element may be configured to provide and switch between both forward and reverse bias states for one or more LEDs. The forward bias state may be provided to activate or turn on one or more LEDs, and the reverse bias state may be provided separately to one or more of the LEDs for other capabilities, including current leakage measurement and reverse bias voltage measurement. In certain embodiments, the active electrical element may be configured to provide forward voltage monitoring and corresponding adjustment to the drive signal for one or more LEDs. An LED panel is disclosed that includes multiple LED packages configured to provide both forward and reverse bias states. The LED panel may be configured to enable one or more of the LED packages to perform a self-test routine upon startup or at other intervals or times. Such a self-test routine may include comparing reverse leakage measurements with reverse leakage requirements and forward voltage measurements with forward voltage requirements for any of the LEDs in each LED package. Such a self-test routine may also include a temperature evaluation for any of the LEDs. In certain embodiments, the reverse leakage measurement and the forward voltage measurement may be added to or may replace the data returned to the control element (e.g., 18 in FIG. 28). In response to an improper reverse leakage value, the active electrical element of a particular LED package may shut down the particular LED in the LED package, shut down an LED pixel in the LED package, or shut down the entire LED package during normal operation of the LED panel to prevent current from diverting away from other LEDs, LED pixels, or LED packages. In response to a deviation in the forward voltage measurement, the active electrical element of a particular LED package may responsively adjust a drive signal, such as a PWM signal, for one or more of the LEDs in the package.In certain embodiments, an exemplary self-test routine may include cycling through each LED to perform an initial brightness measurement, performing internal reverse leakage and / or forward voltage measurements, and providing one or more diagnostic signals via LED color or pulse sequence for an external machine to detect and decode. In certain embodiments, the self-test routine may provide an output signal indicating at least one of a pass or fail condition for the LEDs in the package. The output signal may be communicated to an electrical port as a digital signal. In other embodiments, the output signal may be communicated as an optical signal through one or more of the LEDs in the package. In certain embodiments, the self-test routine may cycle through steps in which the LEDs are electrically activated more slowly to provide a visible signal to a human observer. In this manner, the optical signal may include a code that can be interpreted from the blinking of one or more LEDs at a predetermined color, duration, and / or number. In certain embodiments, the optical signal may first be communicated at a high speed that is undetectable or difficult to detect by a human observer, followed by communication at a slower speed to provide a human-readable code for human detection. The LED package may be configured to perform such self-test routines automatically upon power up, or the LED package may perform such self-test routines when directly connected to a separate power source for testing. The display screen may be configured to perform a self-test routine. Additionally, a time delay may be provided between the high-speed communication and the low-speed communication codes at power-on, sufficient enough for the controller to have time to send a command to stop the self-test routine before the low-speed communication is displayed or transmitted. Thus, the display screen may only blink in accordance with the high-speed communication when power is first applied, and the master controller can send an all-off command almost instantly after startup. In this way, the initial high-speed blinking during startup will be difficult to detect by a human observer.

[0111]

[0180] 37-42 illustrate concepts related to the active electrical elements described herein. 37-42 are provided as overall schematics and block diagrams to represent the present invention. While FIGS. 37-42 are illustrated as overall schematics and block diagrams, various configurations and additional supporting elements and circuits may be present in various embodiments. In FIGS. 37-42, any lines connecting different elements may include a single line or multiple lines depending on the application and the type of signal being transmitted (e.g., analog or digital). Again, these diagrams are intended to generally convey concepts. The addition of other resistive, capacitive, and active elements may be required to achieve desired functionality and performance. Other arrangements, such as source and / or sink drivers, are also contemplated. Additionally, it should be understood that other arrangements, such as using one ADC with multiplexer switches instead of separate ADC inputs for each node, are within the scope of this disclosure. Also, as before, separate voltage inputs can be used for LEDs with different voltage requirements (e.g., a voltage input for a red LED separate from a voltage input for a green or blue LED).

[0112]

[0181] FIG. 37 illustrates an active electrical element 30 according to an embodiment disclosed herein. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment configured to detect normal or adverse operating conditions of at least one LED 146. As illustrated, the driver 148 of the active electrical element 30 is essentially the analog interface of the active electrical element 30 and includes a pull-up resistor R6 set at a high resistance value (e.g., 10,000-100,000 ohms), a threshold detector 150, and a resistor network R1-R5 of different resistance values ​​with selector switches FET1-FET3 coupled to resistors R3-R5, respectively. The threshold detector 150 may include a comparator / op-amp configuration for communicating an error (ERR) signal to the control logic 141. Such an error signal may include, among other things, an electrical short or open state for LED 1. The control logic 141 is the digital interface of the active electrical element 30 and includes resistor selection (R-select) and PWM circuitry coupled to the driver 148. The cathode of LED 146 is coupled to pull-up resistor R6, threshold detector 150, and resistor network R1-R5. In normal operation, select switches FET1-FET3 enable selection of resistors R3-R5 to provide a predetermined current limit, and select switch FET4 is coupled to the PWM circuit of control logic 141 to provide brightness control for LED 146. When LED 146 is in an electrical short condition, the fault is detected as a high voltage, such as above 2 V or above 3 V, and a corresponding fault signal is communicated to control logic 141. When LED 146 is in an electrical open condition, the fault is detected as a low voltage, such as below 0.5 V, depending on the particular resistor selection. Although only LED 146 is illustrated, the concepts described herein are also applicable to multiple LED arrangements, in which case a separate or multiplexed threshold detector 150 is configured with each LED. Similar to previously described embodiments, the active electrical element 30 as configured in Figure 37 may be incorporated into the same LED package as one or more LEDs (e.g., LED 146). Additionally, the active electrical element 30 may be configured to communicate with and respond to commands from another control element (e.g., control element 18 of Figure 1B).

[0113]

[0182] FIG. 38 illustrates an active electrical element 30 according to an embodiment disclosed herein. , providing at least one LED 146 with both a forward bias state and a reverse bias state. FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment configured to drive the LED 146. In a particular embodiment, the control logic 141 includes a reverse bias control output signal configured, through appropriate active elements, to provide the LED 146 with a voltage level near Vss or near Vdd, depending on the output signal. Because the technical term "reverse bias" suggests that a high-level control logic 141 output results in a reverse bias state, the output signal can simply be coupled to an inverter 152 provided within the driver 148. Thus, the LED 146 may be either forward biased or reverse biased, depending on the specific operating condition. The inverter 152, or inverter logic element, may have sufficient output characteristics to drive the LED 146. As with other aspects, the addition of other elements may be required to meet all requirements. In FIG. 38, the ADC 154 is configured to detect the voltage of the LED 146 relative to the operating condition of the LED 146. Thus, the ADC 154 is positioned to replace the threshold detector 150 of FIG. 37. In a particular embodiment, ADC 154 comprises at least one of a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit or an analog filter located in driver 148 and a digital filter circuit located in control logic 141. ADC 154 may further comprise a comparator, a sampling element with digital feedback, and additional filtering in the digital domain. Other arrangements / methods for analog-to-digital conversion are contemplated. To measure operating conditions such as reverse leakage of LED 146, control logic 141 may apply a reverse bias to LED 146 so that the anode of LED 146 is near 0 V. In a reverse-biased state with the PWM circuit turned off, the cathode of LED 146, coupled to pull-up resistor R6, will be at or near V if LED 146 exhibits suitably low reverse leakage. ddIf the LED 146 is leaking under a reverse bias condition, the cathode of the LED 146 will have a lower voltage. This can be sensed by the ADC 154 or a limit sensor and used by the control logic 141 to take appropriate action, such as shutting down the LED 146 and notifying the master control element 18 via a communication protocol. In this regard, the ADC 154 may form a level sensor configured to provide an error signal while the LED 146 is in a reverse bias condition. Thus, the ADC 154 is configured to detect a voltage related to the operating condition of the LED 146 while the LED 146 is in a reverse bias condition.

[0114]

[0183] In other embodiments, the control logic 141 may be implemented by one or more LEDs within the LED package. Multiple LEDs may be shut down, or the control logic 141 may shut down the entire LED package in response to detected reverse leakage. In yet other embodiments, the control logic 141 may adjust the control signal to the LED 146 in response to detected reverse leakage. As illustrated, the driver 148 may include resistor networks R1-R5 and select switches FET1-FET4, and the control logic 141 may include an R-select circuit and a PWM circuit, as described with respect to FIG. 37. As discussed above, during a reverse bias condition of the LED 146, the PWM circuit will be switched off. In certain embodiments, such a configuration of the active electrical elements 30 may enable adjustment and improved control of the operating conditions of the LED 146 beyond detecting voltage levels and responding only to pass and fail conditions. The resistor networks R1-R5 act as a current limiting circuit for the LED 146 and, in this way, do not precisely control the current of the LED 146 in response to small LED voltage changes without active feedback. These changes are observed globally over the life of the LED 146. The LED 146 forward voltage level feedback from the ADC 154 may be used as part of the calculation to determine and / or adjust the PWM duty cycle of the LED 146. For example, if the ADC 154 detects a decrease in the forward voltage level of the LED 146, the control logic 141 may responsively increase the PWM duty cycle of the LED 146 to compensate for the brightness difference that would otherwise be observed. This pseudo current control is advantageous because it requires fewer resources (e.g., additional chip space and power) to implement. Because of this, it may be preferable over other methods of current control. Along with LED 146 forward voltage level feedback, transfer curves, temperature compensation data, and input brightness level data may also be part of the calculations for determining and adjusting the PWM duty cycle. Additionally, ADC 154 may provide voltage level monitoring of LED 146 to control logic 141 so that an electrical short or an electrical open condition of LED 146 may also be detected. In this manner, ADC 154 is configured to detect the voltage of LED 146 in relation to its operating conditions, such as its forward voltage level, while LED 146 is in a forward bias state. According to embodiments disclosed herein, ADC 154 may be configured to transmit measured data (e.g., reverse leakage and forward voltage measurements) to active electrical element 30 for continuous output to a master control element (e.g., control element 18 of FIG. 1B ). Although only LED 146 is illustrated in Figure 38, the concepts described herein are also applicable to multiple LED arrangements where a separate ADC 154 is configured with each LED, or where a network of switches (e.g., a multiplexer) allows one ADC 154 to obtain voltage measurements from several LEDs. As with the previously described embodiments, active electrical element 30 as configured in Figure 38 may be incorporated into the same LED package as one or more LEDs (e.g., LED 146).

[0115]

[0184] FIG. 39 illustrates the resistor network of FIG. 38 according to an embodiment disclosed herein. 39 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment in which resistor networks R1-R5 and corresponding select switches FET1-FET3 are replaced with a current source 156 in active electrical element 30. In FIG. 39, pull-up resistor R6 and inverter 152 are coupled to LED 146, as described for FIG. 38. Current source 156 is configured to provide a current to LED 146 that is selectable (e.g., several levels) or adjustable (e.g., many levels). While the schematic diagram of current source 156 is more general than resistor networks R1-R5 and corresponding select switches FET1-FET3 of FIG. 38, later figures will use current source 156 to represent any method for controlling LED current, including resistor networks R1-R5 and corresponding select switches FET1-FET3 of FIG. 38. Control logic 141 includes a current selection circuit (or resistor selection circuit in FIG. 37) that is generally used to set a maximum current or brightness level based on the chip size or the like of LED 146. Such a selection may generally be made at initial setup and need not necessarily be changed thereafter. In certain embodiments, PWM may be omitted, and LED 146 may be driven solely by current source 156, as previously described for the Howland current pump of FIG. 11E. In certain embodiments, current source 156 is equipped with built-in feedback, and therefore feedback from ADC 154 may not be required. In certain embodiments, temperature measurement feedback may be provided to current source 156 by one or more components of ADC 154. While only LED 146 is illustrated in FIG. 39, the concepts described herein are also applicable to multiple-LED arrangements. As with previously described embodiments, active electrical element 30 as configured in FIG. 39 may be incorporated into the same LED package as one or more LEDs (e.g., LED 146).

[0116]

[0185] FIG. 40 is a schematic diagram illustrating a multiple LED embodiment similar to that of FIG. As illustrated, separate ones of the pull-up resistors R6-1 through R6-3 within the active electrical element 30 are coupled to corresponding ones of the plurality of LEDs 146-1 through 146-3. Additionally, each of the LEDs 146-1 through 146-3 is coupled to a corresponding ADC 154-1 through 154-3 and a corresponding current source 156-1 through 156-3. In FIG. 40, the inverter 152 is configured to change or switch from a forward bias state to a reverse bias state for each of the LEDs 146-1 through 146-3. In other embodiments, the active electrical element 30 may include separate inverters 152 for each of the LEDs 146-1 through 146-3. As discussed above, separate V dd The voltage input is 38) and selector switches (e.g., FET1-FET3 in FIG. 38) may also be configured for each of the LEDs 146-1-146-3. Accordingly, the active electrical element 30 of FIG. 40 is configured to provide electrical open detection, electrical short detection, forward voltage monitoring, and reverse leakage monitoring for each of the LEDs 146-1-146-3 and to responsively regulate or shut off individual or groups of the LEDs 146-1-146-3. Similar to previously described embodiments, the active electrical element 30 as configured in FIG. 40 may be incorporated into the same LED package as the LEDs 146-1-146-3. Although multiple ADCs 154-1 to 154-3 are illustrated, a single ADC may be provided to detect voltages or voltage levels at multiple nodes, such that the single ADC is configured to provide at least one of reverse leakage measurements and forward voltage measurements for multiple LEDs 146-1 to 146-3.

[0117]

[0186] FIG. 41 illustrates a supply voltage V dd , ground V s s 41 is a schematic diagram illustrating the active electrical element 30 of FIG. 40 configured with multiple ports, including a V 1 port and a V 2 port, and bidirectional communication ports (input / output (I / O) port 1 and I / O port 2). dd , V ss In addition to the four ports, I / O port 1, and I / O port 2, active electrical element 30 includes four ports on the right side of the figure that are coupled to LEDs 146-1 through 146-3. As illustrated, LEDs 146-1 through 146-3 are electrically coupled to inverter 152, pull-up resistors R6-1 through R6-3, ADCs 154-1 through 154-3, and current sources 156-1 through 156-3, as previously described. In other embodiments, current sources 156-1 through 156-3 may be replaced with corresponding resistor networks and selection switches, as previously described. Bidirectional communication ports I / O port 1 and I / O port 2 are electrically coupled to one or more I / O buffers 158. I / O buffer 158 includes circuitry (e.g., various buffers and tri-state buffers) configured, along with control logic 141, to assign bidirectional communication ports I / O port 1 and I / O port 2 as either input (data in) or output (data out) communication ports based on how active electrical elements 30 are connected in the system. In response to an input data connection at either bidirectional communication port I / O port 1 or I / O port 2, control logic 141 assigns the input port direction and output port direction accordingly. Control logic 141 may include one or more additional elements generally illustrated in FIG. 41 , such as a memory element, a clock or oscillator, and / or a filter and ADC connected to a temperature sensor and resistor-capacitor to provide thermal management capabilities. In certain embodiments, one or more of ADCs 154-1 through 154-3, or a separate ADC, may be configured to provide a temperature measurement by measuring a voltage provided by a temperature sensor.

[0118]

[0187] FIG. 42 shows a polarity independent (P.A.) 42 is a schematic diagram illustrating the active electrical element 30 of FIG. 41 configured with polarity-agnostic, or polarity-independent, input capability. As illustrated, the active electrical element 30 may receive or connect multiple connections (e.g., ports P1-P4) from input ports or pins and route separate signal lines to V dd , V ss A switching network 160, such as an active switching network, may be arranged to configure one of the ports P1-P4 as a data in, data out, and data out signal line. Ports P1-P4 thus form a plurality of polarity-independent connection ports configured to receive or transmit various signals. In certain embodiments, switching network 160 is configured to self-configure regardless of the order in which ports P1-P4 are connected. 42. An exemplary circuit for switching network 160 may include a network of actively controlled switches, such as MOSFETs with gates biased according to voltage levels sensed at the inputs. In particular embodiments, switching network 160 may provide some of the functionality of I / O buffer 158 of FIG. 41. Thus, in particular embodiments, it may be desirable to combine the functionality of I / O buffer 158 of FIG. 41 into switching network 160. As illustrated by the dashed lines in active switching network 160 of FIG. 42, each of ports P1-P4 is connected to a V dd , V ss , DATA IN, and DATA OUT signal lines. In this way, the active electrical element 30 of the LED package can be connected to the package bond pads (e.g., 48-1 to 48-4 in FIG. 2I) of the LED package via V dd , V ss, input communication, and output communication. For output communication, at least one of the ports (e.g., ports P1-P4) may be configured as an output communication port. Because the switching network 160 also includes a power source, a power pin must first be designated and switched to the appropriate node. This power input can be achieved through a passive circuit (e.g., an RC network control gate of an FET). As an example, FIG. 43 is a general schematic diagram illustrating a four-input rectifier 162 that may be used to provide initial power to the switching network 160 of FIG. 42. As illustrated, each of the ports P1-P4 is coupled to a pair of low-voltage connections, such as bipolar diodes, Schottky diodes, and the like. Such diodes may consume much more power due to their voltage drop (especially for low-voltage LED components); therefore, the four-input rectifier 162 may only be used to initially power the switching network 160 of FIG. 42, after which active elements and logic can be used to make the final switch connections. In this manner, the power switching network of FIG. 42 may then use low-voltage switches, such as MOSFETs, to bypass the diode rectifier (e.g., 162 of FIG. 43) to provide low-resistance routing of the power pins. In particular embodiments, MOSFETs may be included in the active rectifier of the switching network 160 used in combination with the four-input rectifier 162. In other embodiments, an active rectifier may be used in place of the four-input rectifier 162 by replacing each of the diodes illustrated in FIG. 43 with actively controlled switches, such as MOSFETs and / or transistors, including bipolar junction transistors.

[0119]

[0188] As previously explained, compressed digital code or encoded signals, etc. Active electrical elements of an LED package configured to receive a digital code from a control element of an LED display are disclosed. For example, the active electrical element may be configured to receive an encoded digital signal (e.g., FIG. 20) that utilizes reduced data bits in the data stream to communicate a larger amount of command code. In this regard, the active electrical element may be configured to receive a compressed digital code and then expand the digital code for the data stream received by the active electrical element. Accordingly, the expansion of the received digital code may include any nonlinear function or algorithm for expanding the received data stream, including an exponential inverse power function that can increase the dynamic range of the data stream. The dynamic range of a digital signal may refer to a range of signal levels (e.g., upper and lower values) generally described by the number of bits. One form of compression simply relates to how such bits are used. Bits are often used to linearly generate current or power input to an LED. This is because a human observer perceives a signal as being different from a logarithmic or power-law function, such as those used for gamma correction. Perceiving light in a more similar, nonlinear format can result in inefficient use of bit depth (e.g., dynamic range) for a display system. While the dynamic range of a given number of bits may be small (e.g., the highest level of an 8-bit code is 255 times the lowest level excluding zero), that dynamic range can be expanded by many orders of magnitude when converting the data to match the eye's nonlinear response. As an example, instead of having a dynamic range of 255 for 8 bits, applying a gamma of 2.2 yields a dynamic range of approximately 200,000 while still using only 8 bits. Without compression, 18 bits would be required to achieve the same level of dynamic range. In this manner, dynamic range may refer to the useful number of bits, sampling, or resolution of an active electrical element's data stream. Accordingly, active electrical elements as disclosed herein may be configured to receive compressed data and expand such data to provide a greater observed and useful dynamic range. As just described, in certain embodiments, the compression and expansion scheme may follow a power law formula (e.g., gamma correction) to increase the dynamic range between the digital image and the image perceived by a human observer. In other embodiments, the compression and expansion scheme may include groups of adjacent LED pixels / packages or LED pixels / packages in close proximity to one another. Such groups of LED pixels may be applicable to embodiments in which the groups of LED pixels are under the control of a common electrical element in an LED display matrix. In particular, an LED package may include two or more adjacent LED pixels and a compressed data code; the expanded data code then reduces data inefficiency by removing redundancies in the data that might be expected between neighbors of two or more adjacent LED pixels. Thus, a common code is decoded or expanded to provide codes for two or more adjacent LED pixels or sub-pixels.

[0120]

[0189] As described above with respect to Figures 41 and 42, several two-way communication ports Disclosed are LED packages capable of receiving compressed digital data at any of several bidirectional communication ports or at polarity-independent package bond pads (e.g., 48-1 through 48-4 in FIG. 2I) and decompressing such digital data. Additionally, disclosed are LED packages capable of receiving transfer functions or transfer function values ​​to be applied within the LED package at any of several bidirectional communication ports or at any of the polarity-independent package bond pads (e.g., 48-1 through 48-4 in FIG. 2I). The transfer function may include one or more subsets of transfer function coefficients for the active electrical elements to interpolate. In this manner, the transfer function may be calculated in the digital domain. In certain embodiments, the transfer function may include a piecewise transfer function. According to embodiments disclosed herein, a transfer function may be applied to an ADC input (e.g., ADC 154 in FIG. 38 ), to a PWM output (e.g., PWM circuit in FIG. 38 ), and to a DAC-controlled output of an active electrical element to direct or control one or more of a temperature measurement of one or more LEDs in an LED package or a brightness output of one or more LEDs in an LED package. As used herein, a “transfer function” refers to any type of function, which may be implemented in any number of ways, for converting input data to output data such that the output data differs from the input data. In certain embodiments, a transfer function may be configured to transform data according to a linear function, such as additive, multiplicative, and the like. In certain embodiments, a transfer function may be configured to transform data according to a nonlinear function, such as an exponential function, a logarithmic function, a transcendental function, an algorithmic function, a Fourier transform (e.g., a discrete Fourier transform), and the like. A transfer function may be applied to temperature control by converting temperature sensor values ​​to generate corresponding control signals for the LEDs for temperature, brightness, or voltage adjustment, and combinations thereof. In a particular embodiment, the transfer function is determined by inputs from the control element (18 in FIG. 1B), the temperature sensor, and the LED forward voltage measurement or reverse leakage. The LED package may be configured to receive and convert multiple inputs of data values ​​from multiple sources, such as inputs including measurements. Inputs from a control element external to the LED package may be configured as serial communications or serial inputs including, among other things, desired brightness, calibration, and transfer coefficients. Inputs from temperature sensors or inputs including forward voltage and / or reverse leakage measurements may be generated internally within a particular LED package. Thus, an LED package is disclosed that includes an active electrical element configured to receive data values ​​and convert the data values ​​according to a transfer function. In certain embodiments, the data values ​​include compressed data codes received by the active electrical element, which is configured to convert the compressed data codes into expanded data codes. The expanded data codes may include brightness levels or other control signals for LEDs within the LED package.

[0121]

[0190] In certain embodiments disclosed herein, the active The electronic device is configured to receive data from a data stream including user-selectable color depth data. Color depth may refer to the number of data bits used to indicate or represent the color of an LED or LED pixel. For example, a 1-bit color depth may include monochrome colors such as black and white, while a 24-bit color depth may include 8 bits for each of the red, blue, and green LEDs in a particular LED package. Depending on the application, the user-selectable color depth data may include color depths ranging from 1-bit color depth to 100-bit color depth. In certain embodiments, a user may select a color depth for one or more LED packages in the LED display, which may be selectable from any one of 24-bit, 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit color depths. In certain embodiments, a particular bit depth (e.g., one of 24-bit, 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit color depths) may be achieved by selecting the next higher bit depth and zero-padding some least significant bits for the difference. Depending on the selected color depth, the data stream received by the active electrical elements of a particular LED package may be adjusted according to the bit size corresponding to the selected color depth. For example, when changing from a larger color depth to a smaller color depth, the number of corresponding bits and transmission time are reduced. In this way, the bit size of the selectable color depth data is adjustable. At different communication speeds for the data stream, there may be a trade-off between the bit size or depth associated with the color depth, the frame rate, and the number of pixels or sub-pixels in the control chain.

[0122]

[0191] As disclosed herein, the active electrical elements of the LED package may be any The pixel may be configured to receive a variety of data signals, including compressed or encoded signals and color depth data corresponding to any number of command codes. As previously described, the command codes may be included as part of a data packet in the data stream. In certain embodiments, a command code for a particular LED or LED pixel may include an identifier signal that indicates to the active electrical elements how the particular LED or LED pixel should respond to the command code. By way of example, the identifier signal may include a digital "0" signal indicating that the command code is a single-pixel command code for a single LED or a single LED pixel, or a digital "1" signal indicating that the command code is an all-pixel command code for all LEDs or all LED pixels. In certain embodiments, the single-pixel data may be removed from the data stream by the particular pixel receiving the data and replaced with talkback data or a talkback data packet, as previously described. The single-pixel command code may include any one of commands to skip a pixel, set brightness return to voltage, set brightness return temperature and state, and return or talkback back leakage, among others. The skip pixel command code allows the ability to address a specific LED or LED pixel in the chain without affecting other LEDs or LED pixels upstream. The all pixel command code The frame command code may include one of setting the brightness for an LED or LED pixel, or the end of a command code. In certain embodiments, the end of a frame command code is provided to indicate that the LED or LED pixel should respond to the next single pixel command code. In certain embodiments, the single pixel command code may be transmitted or retransmitted along the chain to address a particular LED or LED pixel. In this regard, an active electrical element of an LED package responsive to a single pixel command code may responsively transmit a single pixel command code with a modified code to indicate an "executed" command code and then wait until the end of frame command code is received before responding to the next single pixel command code. Such an active electrical element is sometimes referred to as a pseudo-repeater in cascade communication because it receives and retransmits data, sometimes modifying or substituting the data and not always returning the same data it received.

[0123]

[0192] Either a single pixel command code or a full pixel command code (e.g., Examples of command codes that can be either 0 or 1 in the case of the "All" command bit may include any one of the following: reset, set options, set RGB calibration, set RGB transfer coefficients, set RGB thermal coefficients command codes, load data, and load program. The load data and load program may be used to send and / or receive any data or program to and / or from the memory elements of the active electrical elements. In certain embodiments, the set option command code may be followed by additional data bytes where each bit represents one of the following options: red LED off, green LED off, blue LED off, disable thermal shutdown, disable red LED shutdown, disable green LED shutdown, disable blue LED shutdown, baud rate 0, baud rate 1, color depth 0, color depth 1, turn off / on parity fail, PWM type 0, PWM type 1, resistor select 0, resistor select 1, resistor select 2, do not turn off shorted LEDs, use thermal compensation, setup check to ensure the power-on reset condition is addressed, and use voltage compensation to set the mode in which forward voltage feedback is used to adjust the PWM duty cycle. The communication speed 0 and 1 options may provide up to four communication speeds for the output or may be provided to detect the communication speed from the input. In this regard, LED packages are disclosed that include active electrical elements configured to change or adapt the communication speed of data without a transmitted clock signal. The color depth 0 and 1 options may be configured to toggle between color depths including 24-bit depth, 30-bit depth, 36-bit depth, and 48-bit depth.

[0124]

[0193] As explained above, certain embodiments may utilize pulsed methods such as PWM. This may involve controlling the brightness and / or gray level output of the LEDs through PWM control. Under overall PWM control, the LEDs may be electrically activated for a fraction of the PWM period or for a duty cycle of the PWM period. The PWM period, sometimes referred to as the PWM rate or PWM frequency, corresponds to the length of time to complete each PWM cycle. For LED display applications utilizing PWM control, higher PWM frequencies are typically desired. Below 60 Hz, the human eye may be able to detect LED flicker, while between 60 Hz and 1000 Hz, beating with other cycling (PWM or scanning) sources or recording equipment may occur. In this regard, LED displays as disclosed herein are provided that are capable of PWM operation at effective PWM frequencies of at least 60 Hz, or at least 1,000 Hz, or at least 10,000 Hz, or in the range including 60 Hz and 10,000 Hz, or in the range including 60 Hz and 1,000 Hz, or in the range including 1,000 Hz and 10,000 Hz.

[0125]

[0194] Higher PWM frequencies result in increased power consumption and reduced linearity. There may be trade-offs involved. In addition, the PWM frequency for a display application can be limited by the color or bit depth for the display and the clock or counter rate. Specifically, the PWM period is equal to the bit depth divided by the clock frequency. In this regard, in a high dynamic range (HDR) display, as the bit depth increases, the PWM frequency is reduced proportionally to the clock frequency. Therefore, while a conventional method for increasing the PWM frequency involves increasing the clock frequency, the actual clock frequency can be limited to a range including 1 MHz and 50 MHz, and some exemplary display applications operate at a clock frequency of 3 MHz. The bit depth corresponds to the number of bits used to represent a particular color in the display. Each bit has two possible values, 0 or 1, and therefore the total number of bits for a particular bit depth is calculated by raising the number of possible values ​​(2) to the power corresponding to the bit depth. In this way, a 2-bit depth (e.g., 2 2 ) corresponds to a total of 4 bits, and a 4-bit depth (e.g., 2 4 ) corresponds to a total of 16 bits, and a 16-bit depth (e.g., 2 16 ) corresponds to a total of 65,536 bits. Therefore, for display applications with higher bit depths, higher PWM frequencies may be difficult to achieve within the range of acceptable clock frequencies.

[0126]

[0195] According to embodiments disclosed herein, an effective LED display The effective PWM frequency is increased by segmenting the duty cycle over which the LEDs are electrically activated within each PWM period. Stated differently, the effective PWM frequency is achieved without changing the clock or bit depth and still maintaining the same PWM period (e.g., the PWM period still equals the bit depth divided by the clock frequency, but the effective PWM frequency becomes the clock frequency multiplied by the number of segments divided by the bit depth). One way to segment the duty cycle within a PWM period is to permute or reorder the sequence of clock counters that are compared to a desired level, with the result being an output control signal to a driver that operates at least one LED. In this way, the duty cycle within each PWM period may be segmented over a series of pulses that activate and deactivate each LED multiple times within each PWM period, rather than continuously keeping the LEDs electrically activated for the duration of the duty cycle. In certain embodiments, the active electrical elements disclosed herein incorporated within one or more LED packages of an LED display can individually partition the duty cycle for one or more sets of one or more LEDs.

[0127]

[0196] FIG. 44A shows an example in which the active electrical element 30 is a diode for one or more LEDs. 44A is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment configured to partition a service cycle. While FIG. 44A includes the components described below, active electrical element 30 may include many other components, as previously described, that are not reproduced in FIG. 44A for illustrative purposes. In this regard, FIG. 44A may represent an example of a sub-block implementation of a potentially more complex element. As previously described, active electrical element 30 is configured to receive a data stream and responsively transmit drive or control signals to one or more LEDs. The data stream is received by active electrical element 30 and may optionally be stored in memory element 164 or a register. Memory element 164 may include any of a memory element, a register element, and / or a chip, as previously described for memory element 80 of FIG. 8. Additionally, one or more signal conditioning elements 166 may be configured to convert, manipulate, or otherwise transform the control signals from the data stream before the drive signals are transmitted to one or more LEDs, as described for the signal conditioning element of FIG. 8. Separate signals may be stored in memory element 164 or a register. Signal conditioning element inputs may be provided to introduce transfer coefficients and the like, as previously described for signal conditioning element 166. In certain embodiments, signal conditioning element 166 may be optional. In other embodiments, signal conditioning element 166 may be implemented using hard logic built into active electrical element 30 for a specific task. In still other embodiments, a programmable device such as a microcontroller may be used to transform data by calculation through program instructions or other means. Comparator 168 is configured to receive a command signal from the data stream using memory element 164 and, if present, signal conditioning element 166. Comparator 168 is also configured to receive a clock or counter signal using clock 170 and counter 171 and, in response, output a control signal based on a comparison of the command signal from the data stream with the counter signal. Clock 170 and counter 171 may include any of the clock configurations previously described. 44A, clock 170 and counter 171 are illustrated within active electrical element 30, however, in other embodiments, clock 170 may be located outside active electrical element 30. Additionally, inputs for data streams, signal conditioning, and counter conversions are actually illustrated within active electrical element 30, as external inputs may be routed through intervening components within active electrical element 30, as previously described.

[0128]

[0197] During operation, the clock 170 and counter 171 are Counter 171 provides a sequential count corresponding to the desired bit depth of the PWM period. In this manner, counter 171 sequentially counts the total number of bits for the bit depth and then resets or rolls over to zero. As used herein, sequential counting refers to counting the total number of bits in numerical order (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ...), while non-sequential counting refers to ordering the total number of bits according to a sequence of numbers that includes all of the same total number of bits but is in a non-numerical order during one PWM period. Thus, comparator 168 compares bits from the data stream after any signal conditioning / conversion with the count value provided by counter 171 after any counter conversion as described below, and responsively provides a control signal to driver 172. During an exemplary PWM period or cycle, a data value corresponding to several bits depending on the bit depth is received from the data stream and compared to the counter value. When the counter value is less than the data value, comparator 168 may responsively provide a control signal to driver 172 to electrically activate a corresponding LED or LEDs. As the count value advances, the comparator 168 may responsively provide a control signal to the driver 172 to electrically deactivate one or more corresponding LEDs when the count value exceeds the data value. In this manner, PWM control is provided to the LEDs, where the LEDs are electrically activated for a duty cycle of the PWM period and electrically deactivated for the remainder of the PWM period. The driver 172 may include any of the driver devices and elements as previously described, including the driver element 82 as described with respect to FIG. 8 . In particular embodiments, the comparator 168 may be configured to perform a simple comparison between the data value and the counter value, such as less than, less than or equal to, greater than, greater than or equal to, and / or not equal to. In other embodiments, the comparator 168 may be configured to perform a comparison based on additional logical operations.

[0129]

[0198] As further illustrated in FIG. 44A, a counter conversion device 174 or circuit may be provided to receive the counter signal from clock 170 and counter 171 and responsively convert the counter signal before it is received by comparator 168. In this manner, counter conversion device 174 may be configured to rearrange the order of the counter signals such that comparator 168 performs the comparisons with each of the data values ​​described above in a non-sequential order (e.g., in a non-numerical order) over each PWM period. By applying the comparison sequentially, the output of comparator 168 may undergo multiple transitions during each PWM period. In this manner, the duty cycle may be segmented into multiple electrically activated portions depending on the data value, rather than a single continuous duty cycle, thereby increasing the effective PWM frequency for the LEDs. In particular embodiments, counter conversion device 174 may be configured to be selectable between a numerically ordered sequence and one or more non-numerically ordered sequences over each PWM period depending on the application, such that active electrical element 30 can selectively toggle between a segmented duty cycle and a single-pulse duty cycle. In this regard, the same counter conversion device 174 may provide numerically ordered counter values ​​that are not converted or modified from counter 171 in certain applications, but may also provide converted and non-numerically ordered counter values ​​in other applications. In particular embodiments, a separate counter conversion input may be provided to counter conversion device 174 to provide the ability to select between a numerically ordered sequence and a non-numerically ordered sequence.

[0130]

[0199] FIG. 44B shows the counter conversion device 174 of FIG. 44A, which is connected to the LEDs, LED1 to FIG. 44B is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment configured to share a duty cycle among multiple LEDs, LED1 through LED3, to partition the corresponding duty cycle for LED3. Like FIG. 44A, FIG. 44B may include many other components, as previously described, that are not reproduced in FIG. 44B. In this regard, FIG. 44B may represent an example of a potentially more complex implementation of a sub-block of elements. In FIG. 44B, clock 170 and counter 171 are configured similarly to FIG. 44A. However, counter conversion device 174 output is shared among multiple LEDs, LED1 through LED3. In this manner, each of LEDs, LED1 through LED3, includes a corresponding and separate memory element 164-1 through 164-3, signal conditioning element 166-1 through 166-3, comparator 168-1 through 168-3, and driver 172-1 through 172-3. Thus, the output of counter conversion device 174 is shared with each of comparators 168-1 through 168-3 for comparison with separate data signals for each of LEDs, LED1 through LED3. In particular embodiments, LEDs, LED1 through LED3, may comprise any number of LEDs forming multiple sub-pixels or matrices of sub-pixels served by a single counter conversion device 174.

[0131]

[0200] 45 to 50 show the counter conversion device 17 of FIG. 44A for PWM control. 44A provides table diagrams representing sequential counter sequences and various non-sequential or modified counter sequences, respectively, that may be provided by the counter conversion device 174 of FIG. 44A. In certain embodiments, the counter conversion device 174 of FIG. 44A may have a select / control input to allow selection among any number of count sequences, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 45-50. In each of FIGS. 45-50, each column of the table represents data values ​​that may be received from the data stream for a particular desired output power or LED brightness. These data values ​​are represented as sequential decimal values ​​(e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.) and their corresponding binary values ​​(e.g., 0000, 0001, 0010, etc.). Each row represents the counter value (sequential and / or modified) in binary values ​​for each step of the counter sequence. For illustrative purposes, the example shown in FIGS. 45-50 is provided for a 4-bit depth display application, in which 16 possible values ​​(e.g., 0, 1, 2, ... 15) are provided for each color or gray level. In fact, the embodiments illustrated in Figures 45-50 are scalable to larger bit depth applications for higher resolution displays, including, but not limited to, 24-bit depth, 30-bit depth, 36-bit depth, and 48-bit depth configurations. Each of these bit depth configurations will be divided by 3 for bit depths per pixel (e.g., 8, 10, 12, or 16 bits). In the case of three colors or other multiple sub-pixel components, a single counter and a converted counter The signal can be shared among all the sub-pixels, each with its own data, comparator, and driver as previously described for Figure 44B.

[0132]

[0201] FIG. 45 shows a circuit for providing a counter sequence to the comparator of FIG. 44A in numerical order. FIG. 45 illustrates a table diagram. In this regard, the data value over a particular PWM period is compared by a comparator (168 in FIG. 44A) to a counter value that starts at 0 and progresses sequentially through a numerical sequence to 15. Because FIG. 45 represents linear counter values ​​that are not converted, the modified counter value portion of the table remains empty. When the data value is greater than the counter value, a control signal (e.g., "1") is provided to electrically activate the corresponding LED. When the data value is less than or equal to the counter value, a control signal (e.g., "0") is provided to electrically deactivate the corresponding LED. In this regard, a data value of 0 results in the corresponding LED being electrically deactivated for the entire PWM period. A data value of 8 results in the corresponding LED being electrically activated for 8 consecutive counts out of a total 16-count counter sequence, thereby providing a duty cycle corresponding to 50% of the PWM period. As illustrated, for each of the data values ​​0 through 15, the corresponding LED is electrically activated once for the duration of the duty cycle within each PWM period. Stated differently, within each PWM period, there is at most one electrical pulse delivered to the LED, or at most one positive and one negative transition. At low frequencies, this can cause noticeable flickering or blinking, and may additionally result in beating with other light or imaging sources.

[0133]

[0202] Figure 46 shows how non-numerically ordered counter values ​​are converted into a full bit-reversed sequence. 44A according to the sequence shown in FIG. 44A. Rather than comparing data values ​​to the numerically ordered counter values ​​provided by counter 171 of FIG. 44A, counter conversion device 174 of FIG. 44A may reorder the counter values ​​by bit reversal to provide a modified counter value. For example, in counter sequence 3, the sequential counter value 0011 is converted to the reverse order to become the modified counter value 1100, which originally corresponded to counter sequence 12. In the case of full bit reversal, all sequential binary counter values ​​are converted in this manner. This is one of the simplest methods of rearrangement, as it can be achieved by simply wiring the counter's bit output in reverse order and does not require any decision logic, calculations, or lookups. Thus, comparator 168 of FIG. 44A compares data values ​​over a particular PWM period according to modified counter values ​​arranged in the following non-numerically ordered sequence: 0, 8, 4, 12, 2, 10, 6, 14, 1, 9, 5, 13, 3, 11, 7, 15. When the data value is greater than the modified counter value, a control signal (e.g., “1”) is provided to electrically activate the corresponding LED. When the data value is less than or equal to the modified counter value, a control signal (e.g., “0”) is provided to electrically deactivate the corresponding LED. Depending on the particular bit depth and data value, the corresponding LED may be electrically activated and deactivated multiple times to provide a particular net duty cycle. For example, a data value of 8 results in the corresponding LED being electrically activated for 8 non-consecutive counts out of a total of 16 counts, thereby cycling (or transitioning) on ​​and off 8 times to provide a duty cycle of 50% of the PWM period. In this way, the effective PWM frequency for a 50% duty cycle is 8 times higher than the rate of Figure 45. For data values ​​of 0, 1, and 15, the corresponding LEDs will be driven in a manner similar to that illustrated in Figure 45. The bit-reversal technique of Figure 46 provides an increased effective PWM rate for many data values, but may also increase power consumption because the LEDs are cycled on and off more times within each PWM period.As shown, at a 50% data level, a full bit-inverted PWM provides a drive frequency at half the clock rate, which may be much higher than desired. In addition, there are linearity issues as the driver may not accurately follow the high speed signal provided by the comparator. This may occur.

[0134]

[0203] FIG. 47 shows the modified counter value in accordance with the partial bit reversal sequence of FIG. FIG. 44A illustrates a table diagram for providing to comparator 168. In the case of partial bit reversal, only a portion of the counter bits are reversed. As an example, FIG. 47 illustrates modified counter values ​​obtained by reversing the first two digits of the counter value. Thus, for counter sequence 4, a sequential counter value of 0100, representing a decimal value of 4, is converted to a modified binary counter value of 1000, representing a decimal value of 8. In this example, by converting only the first two digits, the number of transitions at the 50% level is reduced by one-quarter of that with full bit reversal. Thus, comparator 168 of FIG. 44A compares data values ​​over a particular PWM period according to modified counter values ​​arranged in the following non-numerically ordered sequence: 0, 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15. By applying partial bit reversal, the corresponding LED may be electrically activated and deactivated more times within each PWM period than with the numerically ordered sequence of FIG. 45 and less times than with the full bit reversal sequence of FIG. 46. For example, a data value of 8 results in the corresponding LED being electrically activated and deactivated in successive increments of 4 counts to provide a 50% duty cycle. Thus, for a data value of 8, the corresponding LED will cycle (or transition) on and off twice within each PWM period, thereby doubling the effective PWM frequency compared to FIG. 45 but benefiting from lower power consumption compared to the higher effective PWM frequency of FIG. 46. In certain embodiments, partial bit reversal may include reversing other digits of the sequential binary counter value. In certain embodiments, any number of bits may be reversed, from zero to the total number of counter bits. In certain embodiments, the selection of how many bits are reversed may be hard-coded or hardwired within the system. In still further embodiments, adaptive bit reversal may be utilized to allow for changes to the bit-reversal and / or partial bit-reversal sequence as a user option and / or setting accepted as input.

[0135]

[0204] As explained above, partial bit reversals can occur more frequently than once per PWM period. This provides several advantages over raw counter sequences by providing a transition frequency significantly lower than the clock frequency, while also providing a transition frequency significantly higher than the clock frequency. However, as the illustration in FIG. 47 shows, data levels below 5 and above 11 remain unchanged from the original method (e.g., FIG. 45). This may be further addressed by bit segment swapping. Previous embodiments reverse all counter bits or a portion of the counter bits. In bit segment swapping, segments of bits are swapped without reversing the bits within each segment. For example, to achieve y pulses within a PWM period, x most significant bit segments are swapped with the remaining bits, in this case 2 x =y. As an example, an 8-bit counter having bit positions 76543210 may have bit position 7 as the most significant bit. If four PWM pulses per period are desired for most data values, the most significant two bits (76) may be moved to the least significant positions to provide the sequence 54321076. In this regard, a modified counter using this bit ordering may be communicated to comparator 168 of FIG. 44A.

[0136]

[0205] Figure 48 shows bit segment swapping according to two-segment sequencing. FIG. 44A shows a table diagram for providing a modified counter value to comparator 168 of FIG. 44A. For a two-segment sequence, the modified counter value is obtained by rearranging the 16 values ​​into two different segments, with all even numbers in one segment, followed by all odd numbers in the second segment, etc. This is accomplished as previously described by swapping the order of the counter bits so that the most significant bit is moved to the least significant bit position. Thus, comparator 168 of FIG. 44A compares data values ​​over a particular PWM period according to modified counter values ​​arranged in the following non-numerically ordered sequence: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15. As illustrated, an increased number of data values ​​may correspond to the LED being electrically activated and deactivated twice within each PWM period compared to the partial bit reversal sequence of FIG. 47, thereby providing a higher effective PWM frequency for lower and higher data values ​​as well as values ​​around 50%.

[0137]

[0206] Figure 49 shows bit segment swapping according to 4-segment sequencing. FIG. 49 shows a table diagram for providing the modified counter value to comparator 168 of FIG. 44A according to the modified counter value sequence. For a four-segment sequence, the modified counter value is obtained by rearranging the 16 values ​​into four different segments. Stated differently, the upper two bits are swapped with the lower two bits without reversing the bits within each set. As a result, FIG. 49 shows that the four different segments are provided by starting the modified counter value at 0 and counting four to provide the first four digits of the modified counter sequence, followed by setting the fifth digit at 1 and counting four to provide the next four digits, and so on. Thus, comparator 168 of FIG. 44A compares data values ​​over a particular PWM period according to the modified counter values, which are arranged in the following non-numerically ordered sequence: 0, 4, 8, 12, 1, 5, 9, 13, 2, 6, 10, 14, 3, 7, 11, 15. As illustrated, depending on the data value, the corresponding LED may be electrically activated and deactivated one to four times within each PWM period.

[0138]

[0207] Figure 50 shows bit segment swapping according to 8-segment sequencing. FIG. 50 shows a table diagram for providing modified counter values ​​to comparator 168 of FIG. 44A according to the modified counter values. For an 8-segment sequence, the modified counter values ​​are obtained by rearranging the 16 values ​​into eight different segments. Stated differently, the upper three bits are swapped with the lower bits without reversing the bits within each set. As a result, FIG. 50 shows that up to eight different segments are provided by starting the modified counter value at 0 and counting up to eight to provide the first two digits of the modified counter sequence, followed by setting the third digit at 1 and counting up to eight to provide the next two digits, and so on. Thus, comparator 168 of FIG. 44A compares data values ​​over a particular PWM period according to modified counter values ​​arranged in the following non-numerically ordered order: 0, 8, 1, 9, 2, 10, 3, 11, 4, 12, 5, 13, 6, 14, 7, 15. As illustrated, depending on the data value, the corresponding LED may be electrically activated and deactivated one to eight times within each PWM period. Although the above examples are provided for 2-segment, 4-segment, and 8-segment sequencing, such embodiments are scalable to larger bit-depth applications for higher resolution displays, including, but not limited to, 24-bit depth, 30-bit depth, 36-bit depth, and 48-bit depth configurations. For such higher bit-depth applications, the higher segment sequencing may include, among other things, 16-segment, 32-segment, and 64-segment sequencing.

[0139]

[0208] In each of Figures 45-50, the last row is zero, and as a result, Even at high brightness levels, the LED is deactivated for one clock pulse corresponding to the last counter sequence value. This is one representation of various implementations of Figures 45-50 in practice. If it is desired that the maximum level have no transitions so that the LED remains activated throughout the entire PWM period, an implementation may omit the last counter value (i.e., the last row) and roll over to zero one cycle earlier than previous implementations. For clarity, all Figures 45-50 are shown assuming the modified counter is sequential in decimal. Indicates the last optional cycle equal to the value 15 (or 1111 in binary).

[0140]

[0209] Non-numerically ordered and non-numeric ordered sequences as illustrated by the examples in Figures 45-50. By providing various non-numerically ordered and / or modified counting sequences, a higher effective PWM frequency may be achieved. In this regard, active electrical elements configured for PWM control may achieve a higher effective PWM frequency than the PWM frequency calculated by dividing the clock frequency by the bit depth for a particular application. By providing a higher effective PWM frequency, an LED display may advantageously provide a higher dynamic range with precise high and low brightness levels, as well as avoid low-frequency interference effects while maintaining good linearity, without having to increase the clock rate or sacrifice power efficiency. Such non-numerically ordered and / or modified counting sequences may be provided for any of the previously described embodiments, including the LED package 26 of FIGS. 2A-2I having multiple LED chips forming pixels, the LED package 74 of FIG. 7 and / or the LED package 108 of FIG. 12B including multiple groups of LED chips forming multiple pixels, and any of the active electrical element structures, related components, and related system-level configurations as described in FIGS. 8-12A and 14-35. In certain embodiments, the non-numerically ordered and / or modified counting sequences described herein are applicable to all-in-one multi-pixel displays including multiple LED chips formed in pixel groups formed on a common board containing either common active electrical elements such as an ASIC or multiple separate ASICs. Such all-in-one multi-pixel displays may include one or more of chip-on-glass (COG), chip-on-board (COB), package-on-package (POP), package-on-board (POB), or PCB assemblies.

[0141]

[0210] An LED display as described herein can be used to reduce the various A reset may sometimes be necessary due to an error condition. As previously described, a period of no data transmission and / or a command code including a reset command code may be configured to signal a reset or restart condition. In certain embodiments, an LED display and corresponding active electrical elements may be configured to initiate a reset and / or interrupt condition without requiring a period of no data transmission and / or a reset command code. In this regard, a reset and / or interrupt condition may be initiated via a common data signal, such as a serial communication signal, by holding a line state high or low for a longer time interval than expected in normal operation. Such a reset condition may be signaled configured to reset all active electrical elements in the display or one or more individual active electrical elements in the display. In the case of one or more individual active electrical elements, the reset signal may be provided with different lengths and / or pulses corresponding to the particular active electrical element. In this regard, active electrical elements that do not respond to a reset signal may simply pass the reset signal on to the next active electrical element. Another approach to signaling a reset to individual active electrical elements in a string is to configure the active electrical elements to respond to a "hard reset next" command. In this way, the command can be directed to the active electrical element preceding the target active electrical element to be reset and directs the reset signal to its output, thus avoiding all previous active electrical elements from receiving a hard reset signal. In certain embodiments, there can be two such commands: a "hard reset one" and a "hard reset all" command. The "hard reset one" command sends an individual reset signal, such as the shorter of the two reset signals. The "hard reset all" command sends an individual reset signal, such as the shorter of the two reset signals. A longer pulse can be directed at the power, signaling all subsequent active electrical elements in the string to reset. The ability to initiate a reset condition by embedding a reset signal within the data stream can be particularly useful for forcing a reset when the LED display and corresponding active electrical elements do not respond to command codes or other reset communications, including periods of no data transmission.

[0142]

[0211] FIG. 51A provides an active electrical element according to a previously described embodiment. FIG. 51B illustrates a normal data stream in return-to-zero (RZ) format that may be used in a digital signal processing system. FIG. 51B illustrates a data stream 178 in RZ format that includes a reset signal 180. As illustrated, the reset signal 180 corresponds to a period of time during which the data stream 178 is held in a high state (e.g., "1") for a longer duration than the portion of the normal data stream 176 of FIG. 51A. In this manner, an active electrical element that is subject to the reset signal 180 may responsively reset its operating state upon receiving the reset signal 180. Additionally, any active electrical element that is not subject to the reset signal 180 may simply pass the reset signal 180 to the next active electrical element without initiating a reset action. While the reset signal 180 is illustrated in a high state (e.g., "1"), the reset signal 180 may alternatively be held in a low state (e.g., "0") or may include pulses of different lengths and / or multiple pulses without departing from the principles disclosed herein. In particular embodiments, data stream 178 may further include one or more commands or instructions indicating the type of reset or interrupt condition to be initiated after receiving reset signal 180. Additionally, data stream 178 may include additional commands indicating the next action to be taken after the reset or interrupt condition is initiated.

[0143]

[0212] Thermal management element that monitors the operating temperature of the LED package and / or LED display A thermal management element may be incorporated into the LED package and / or LED display, as previously described with respect to FIG. 8 . Accordingly, the operating state of one or more LEDs in the package and / or display may be adjusted based on the monitored temperature provided by one or more thermal management elements. In some cases, the response time of the thermal management element may be slow, or the location of the thermal management element may be spaced significantly away from a particular LED to provide timely thermal compensation. For example, in a three-chip LED package 26 as illustrated in FIG. 2A , the corresponding thermal management element may provide a single operating temperature for the LED package 26 without determining the individual contribution of each of the separate LED chips 28-1 through 28-3 to the overall operating temperature. In some cases, one of the LED chips (e.g., 28-1) may be operating disproportionately hotter than the other LED chips (e.g., 28-2, 28-3). For such conditions, an integrator configured to separately determine thermal management compensation for each of the LED chips 28-1 through 28-3 in the package may be incorporated into the active electrical element 30. For example, the integrator may compare the operating temperature as measured by the thermal management element with one or more different brightness levels being delivered to each of the LED chips 28-1 through 28-3, and with any calibration constants to calculate individual thermal compensation adjustments for each of the LED chips 28-1 through 28-3.

[0144]

[0213] The color space or color gamut that an LED pixel can display depends on the The color space for an LED pixel comprising a red LED chip, a green LED chip, and a blue LED chip may be defined by the respective color points of the LED chips. For example, the color space for an LED pixel comprising a red LED chip, a green LED chip, and a blue LED chip may be defined as a triangular region in a chromaticity diagram, where the vertices of the triangular region correspond to the different color points of the LED chips. In certain embodiments, the color space of the incoming video source may be different from the color space as defined by the LED chips of the LED pixel. As a result, the displayed colors may not appear the same on different monitors without data conversion. The conversion may vary depending on the device. In certain applications, the conversion may occur in real time by a video processor before sending the data signal to the LED display. The LED display may have its own video processor to simulate one or several standard color spaces or gamuts according to the video technology being used. For example, an LED display capable of a relatively wide color gamut may be configured to display a narrower color gamut, such as the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) color gamut for analog television based on a particular video source. Such a video processor needs to be fairly fast and powerful to do this in real time and therefore can be quite expensive. In certain embodiments, active electrical elements, such as those previously described, may be configured for digital signal processing by accepting input data from one color space or gamut and converting this data to more accurately represent the color space or gamut of the LED chip controlled by the active electrical element. Because the active electrical elements serve only a small number of sub-pixels (typically 3 for single-pixel RGB and 12 for 2×2-pixel RGB), the task of color space conversion is significantly simpler and does not require a high-speed processor to calculate the conversion for every pixel in the display.

[0145]

[0214] In certain embodiments, the active electrical elements are greater than three for each LED pixel. For example, the active electrical elements may be configured to control four LED chips in a four-point gamut. In such an example, the active electrical elements may be configured to receive three-color input data and convert it to more closely match the expected four-point gamut. In a further example, a controller for an LED display may send a command for green, and rather than simply turning on only the green LEDs, the active electrical elements may calculate a combination of drive signals to the LED chips to match the shade of green expected by the source data in their respective color spaces. Thus, the active electrical elements may convert a green input signal into drive signals for all three or more LED chips in an LED pixel (e.g., a substantially higher green LED emission combined with smaller amounts of blue and red LED emission). In certain embodiments, the active electrical elements capable of digital signal processing may include one or more ASICs comprising one or more of an arithmetic logic unit, a microcontroller, an execution controller, and a digital signal processor.

[0146]

[0215] The embodiments as disclosed herein may include a plurality of LED chips forming a pixel. 2A-6 having a plurality of LED chips, as well as LED package 74 of FIG. 7 and / or LED package 108 of FIG. 12B including multiple groups of LED chips forming multiple pixels. The embodiments as described herein may also be applicable to all-in-one multi-pixel displays including multiple LED chips formed in pixel groups formed on a common board including either common active electrical elements such as an ASIC or multiple separate ASICs. Such all-in-one multi-pixel displays may include one or more of chip-on-glass (COG), chip-on-board (COB), package-on-package (POP), package-on-board (POB), or PCB assemblies. In this regard, any of the active electrical element configurations, associated component configurations, and associated system-level configurations as described in FIGS. 8-12A and 14-51B may be applicable to both LED packages and LED display systems.

[0147]

[0216] In certain embodiments, any of the preceding aspects and / or the methods described herein Various separate aspects and features as described herein may be combined for additional advantage. Any of the various features and elements as disclosed herein may be combined in one or more may be combined with other disclosed features and elements unless otherwise indicated herein.

[0148]

[0217] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.

Claims

1. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element comprising: configured to receive at least one data packet from a data stream, the at least one data packet including a command code that at least in part identifies at least one action to be performed; and the active electrical element is configured to perform the at least one action in response to the command code.

2. The LED package of claim 1 , wherein the at least one action includes transmitting the at least one data packet to a port of the LED package.

3. The LED package of claim 1 , wherein the at least one action includes driving the at least one LED.

4. The LED package of claim 1 , wherein the at least one action includes driving the at least one LED without transmitting the at least one data packet.

5. 10. The LED package of claim 1, wherein the at least one action includes transmitting the at least one data packet without performing any other action inside the LED package.

6. 6. The LED package of claim 5, wherein transmitting the at least one data packet without performing any other action within the LED package is based at least in part on the content of one or more other data packets previously received by the LED package.

7. The LED package of claim 1 , wherein the at least one action comprises performing an internal action within the LED package and transmitting the at least one data packet.

8. The LED package of claim 1 , wherein the at least one action comprises performing an internal action within the LED package without transmitting the at least one data packet.

9. 10. The LED package of claim 1, wherein the at least one data packet includes color selection data and brightness level data for the at least one LED.

10. 10. The LED package of claim 1, wherein the at least one data packet includes information configured to provide a data handshake with another device.

11. 10. The LED package of claim 1, wherein the data stream includes an empty transmission period between successive data packets configured to control a communication speed of the LED package, signal a reset or restart condition, or signal a next frame condition.

12. The LED package of claim 1 , wherein the data packets of the data stream have the same data length.

13. The LED package of claim 1 , wherein the data packets of the data stream have different data lengths.

14. 10. The LED package of claim 1, wherein the active electrical element is arranged to receive the at least one data packet from a control element.

15. 10. The LED package of claim 1, wherein the active electrical element is configured to receive the at least one data packet after the at least one data packet has been transmitted by another LED package along a communication bus line.

16. 2. The LED package of claim 1, wherein the at least one data packet includes a first data packet and a subsequent data packet disposed after the first data packet in the data stream, the first data packet and the subsequent data packet configured to provide data to the active electrical element.

17. 17. The LED package of claim 16, wherein the subsequent data packets include at least one of color selection data, brightness level data, setup data, option selection data, or calibration data.

18. The LED package of claim 1 , wherein the at least one action includes replacing the at least one data packet with a talkback data packet in a data stream emanating from the LED package.

19. 10. The LED package of claim 1, further comprising a submount, wherein the at least one LED and the active electrical element are formed on the submount.

20. 10. The LED package of claim 1, further comprising at least one bidirectional communication port, wherein the active electrical element is configured to assign the at least one bidirectional communication port as one of an input port or an output port in response to a signal received by the LED package.

21. 10. The LED package of claim 1, wherein the at least one LED forms a pixel in an LED display.

22. 10. The LED package of claim 1, wherein the active electrical element comprises a finite state machine configured to change between one or more of a power-up or reset state, a communication port setup state, or one or more command states.

23. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element configured to receive data from a data stream and incorporate different data into the data stream.

24. The data includes at least one data packet, the different data includes a talkback data packet, and the active electrical element associates the at least one data packet with the talkback data packet in a data stream exiting the LED package.

24. The LED package of claim 23 configured to replace a socket.

25. 25. The LED package of claim 24, wherein the talkback data packet includes at least one of an operating temperature, an operating current, or an operating state of the at least one LED.

26. 25. The LED package of claim 24, wherein the talkback data packet includes data parity information configured to provide data validation of the data stream.

27. 24. The LED package of claim 23, wherein the data includes at least one data packet, the at least one data packet including a command code that identifies at least one action to be performed by an active electrical element.

28. 30. The LED package of claim 27, wherein the at least one action includes providing the different data to the data stream.

29. 30. The LED package of claim 27, wherein the at least one action comprises performing an internal action within the LED package and transmitting the data.

30. 30. The LED package of claim 27, wherein the at least one action comprises performing an internal action within the LED package without transmitting the at least one data packet.

31. 30. The LED package of claim 27, wherein the at least one action includes transmitting the at least one data packet without performing any other action inside the LED package.

32. 32. The LED package of claim 31 , wherein transmitting the at least one data packet without performing any other action within the LED package is based at least in part on one or more other data packets previously received by the LED package.

33. 25. The LED package of claim 24, wherein the at least one data packet includes a first data packet and a subsequent data packet positioned after the first data packet in the data stream, the first data packet and the subsequent data packet configured to provide data to the active electrical element.

34. 24. The LED package of claim 23, wherein the active electrical element is arranged to receive the data from a control element.

35. 24. The LED package of claim 23, wherein the active electrical element is positioned to receive the data from another LED package.

36. 24. The LED package of claim 23, wherein the at least one LED forms a pixel in an LED display.

37. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; At least one bidirectional communication port; A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising:

38. 38. The LED package of claim 37, further comprising an active electrical element configured to assign a state of the at least one bidirectional communication port as either an input port or an output port.

39. 39. The LED package of claim 38, further comprising at least two bidirectional communication ports, wherein the active electrical element is configured to assign the input port and the output port from the at least two bidirectional communication ports in response to an input signal received by the LED package.

40. 40. The LED package of claim 39, wherein the active electrical element is configured to assign the input port and the output port in response to the input signal received by at least one of the at least two bidirectional communication ports.

41. 39. The LED package of claim 38, wherein the input port is configured to receive the at least one data packet from a data stream, the at least one data packet including a command code that at least partially identifies at least one action to be performed by the active electrical element.

42. 42. The LED package of claim 41, wherein the at least one action comprises performing an internal action within the LED package and transmitting the at least one data packet.

43. 42. The LED package of claim 41, wherein the at least one action comprises performing an internal action within the LED package without transmitting the at least one data packet.

44. 42. The LED package of claim 41, wherein the at least one action comprises transmitting the at least one data packet without performing any other action inside the LED package.

45. 40. The LED package of claim 37, wherein the at least one LED forms a pixel in an LED display.

46. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; an active electrical element comprising a volatile memory element, the active electrical element configured to change a drive condition of the at least one LED according to a temporarily stored operating state, and electrical connections for the active electrical element disposed below the active electrical element with respect to a primary light output surface of the LED package.

47. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the at least one LED comprises a plurality of LEDs, and the active electrical element is configured to independently vary a drive condition of each LED of the plurality of LEDs based on a plurality of operating conditions.

48. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a non-volatile memory element.

49. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a decoder element configured to receive and convert an input signal from an external source.

50. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the at least one LED comprises a plurality of LEDs, and the active electrical element further comprises a driver element configured to drive the plurality of LEDs according to a plurality of operating states.

51. 51. The LED package of claim 50, wherein the driver element comprises at least one of a source driver or a sink driver.

52. 52. The LED package of claim 51, wherein the driver element further comprises an active cascode configuration.

53. 52. The LED package of claim 51, wherein the driver element further comprises a Howland current pump.

54. 54. The LED package of claim 53, wherein the Howland current pump further comprises a voltage follower connected to a voltage input of the driver element.

55. 52. The LED package of claim 51, wherein the driver element is configured to drive the plurality of LEDs with pulse width modulation.

56. 47. The LED package of claim 46, further comprising a thermal management element configured to monitor an operating temperature of the LED package.

57. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the active electrical elements further comprise at least one of a decoder element, a driver element, and a signal conditioning element.

58. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a detector signal conditioning element configured to detect light incident on the LED package.

59. 60. The LED package of claim 58, wherein a photodiode is configured to input a signal to the detector signal conditioning element based on the light incident thereon.

60. 60. The LED package of claim 58, wherein the at least one LED is configured to input a signal to the detector signal conditioning element based on the light incident thereon.

61. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a sample and hold circuit.

62. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a serial communication element.

63. 63. The LED package of claim 62, wherein the active electrical element comprises a driver element, the driver element comprising a pulse width modulated driver element configured to independently drive the at least one LED based on a digital input signal.

64. 64. The LED package of claim 63, wherein the digital input signal comprises a self-clocking signal, and the active electrical element further comprises a decoder element configured to decode the self-clocking signal.

65. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the active electrical element is configured to be addressed and the operational state of the at least one LED is changed in a manner dependent on information stored in a local memory.

66. 66. The LED package of claim 65, wherein the information stored in the local memory includes an address.

67. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a programmable active electrical element.

68. 47. The LED package of claim 46, wherein the active electrical element is configured to change the drive condition of the at least one LED according to the temporarily stored operating state and a non-temporary operating state.

69. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED chip; an active electrical element comprising a signal conditioning element, a memory element, and a driver element, wherein electrical connections for the active electrical element are disposed below the active electrical element relative to a primary light output surface of the LED package.

70. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the signal conditioning element is electrically connected between the memory element and the driver element.

71. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the signal conditioning element is electrically connected between an input signal line and the memory element.

72. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the signal conditioning element is configured to convert an analog signal.

73. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the signal conditioning element is configured to convert a digital signal.

74. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the signal conditioning element is configured to provide gamma correction or apply another non-linear transfer function.

75. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the active electrical element further comprises an electrostatic discharge element.

76. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a thermal management element.

77. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the driver element comprises at least one of a source driver or a sink driver.

78. The at least one LED chip comprises a red LED chip, a blue LED chip, and a green LED chip, and the active electrical element includes a first contact pad configured to receive a first power input for the red LED chip, and a second contact pad configured to receive a second power input for the blue LED chip and the green LED chip.

70. The LED package of claim 69, further comprising two contact pads.

79. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the active electrical element is configured to receive a device selection signal from an external source.

80. 80. The LED package of claim 79, wherein the device select signal comprises at least one of a column select signal and a row select signal from the external source.

81. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a detector element.

82. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the at least one LED chip comprises a first LED chip, a second LED chip, and a third LED chip, and the active electrical element further comprises a separate contact pad for each of a string select signal, a brightness level signal for the first LED chip, a brightness level signal for the second LED chip, and a brightness level signal for the third LED chip.

83. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the at least one LED chip comprises a first LED chip, a second LED chip, and a third LED chip, and the active electrical element is configured to control four LED selection conditions including selection of the first LED chip, selection of the second LED chip, selection of the third LED chip, and selection of none of the first LED chip, the second LED chip, and the third LED chip.

84. 84. The LED package of claim 83, wherein the active electrical element further comprises two contact pads configured to receive signals for the four LED selection conditions.

85. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the at least one LED chip comprises a first LED chip, a second LED chip, and a third LED chip, and the active electrical element further comprises separate contact pads for each of a column select signal for the first LED chip, a column select signal for the second LED chip, a column select signal for the third LED chip, and a brightness level signal.

86. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the active electrical element further comprises at least one contact pad configured to receive an encoded analog signal.

87. 87. The LED package of claim 86, wherein the encoded analog signal comprises at least one of a multi-level logic signal, a variable frequency signal, a variable phase signal, or a variable amplitude signal.

88. 88. The LED package of claim 87, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a decoder element configured to receive and convert the encoded analog signal.

89. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the active electrical element further comprises at least one contact pad configured to receive an encoded digital signal.

90. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a serial communication element configured to receive a digital input signal.

91. The at least one LED chip includes a first LED chip, a second LED chip, and and a third LED chip, wherein the active electrical element further comprises at least one contact pad configured to receive digital input signals corresponding to four LED selection conditions including selection of the first LED chip, selection of the second LED chip, selection of the third LED chip, and selection of none of the first LED chip, the second LED chip, and the third LED chip.

92. 91. The LED package of claim 90, wherein the driver element comprises a pulse width modulated driver element configured to independently drive the at least one LED chip based on the digital input signal.

93. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the memory element comprises a volatile memory element configured to update and store an operating state of the at least one LED chip.

94. 70. The LED package of claim 69, wherein the memory element comprises a non-volatile memory element configured to store a default position setting for the LED package.

95. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: a plurality of LED chips forming a plurality of LED pixels; an active electrical element having five or fewer input electrical connections, the active electrical element configured to independently change a drive condition of each LED chip of the plurality of LED chips according to an input signal.

96. 96. The LED package of claim 95, wherein the active electrical element comprises four or fewer input electrical connections.

97. 96. The LED package of claim 95, wherein the input electrical connections include a supply voltage, a ground, an encoded device select signal, and a brightness level signal.

98. 96. The LED package of claim 95, wherein the input electrical connections include a supply voltage, a ground, a digital signal, and a clock signal.

99. 96. The LED package of claim 95, wherein the input electrical connections include a first supply voltage, a second supply voltage, ground, and a digital signal.

100. 100. The LED package of claim 99, wherein the first supply voltage is configured to drive one or more red LED chips of the plurality of LED chips, and the second supply voltage is configured to drive one or more blue and green LED chips of the plurality of LED chips.

101. 96. The LED package of claim 95, wherein the input signal comprises an asynchronous data signal.

102. 96. The LED package of claim 95, wherein the input electrical connections include a first supply voltage, a second supply voltage, ground, a brightness level signal, and an encoded device select signal.

103. 96. The LED package of claim 95, wherein each LED pixel of the plurality of LED pixels includes at least one of a red LED chip, a green LED chip, and a blue LED chip.

104. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED chip; 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: an active electrical element comprising a serial communication element configured for digital input or output signals and a driver element configured to independently change a drive condition of the at least one LED chip, wherein the electrical connections of the active electrical element are disposed below the active electrical element with respect to a primary light output surface of the LED package.

105. 105. The LED package of claim 104, wherein the driver element comprises a pulse width modulated driver element configured to independently drive the at least one LED chip based on the digital input signal.

106. 105. The LED package of claim 104, wherein the at least one LED chip comprises a first LED chip, a second LED chip, and a third LED chip, and the active electrical element further comprises one or more digital-to-analog converters configured to provide independent drive signals to the first LED chip, the second LED chip, and the third LED chip.

107. 105. The LED package of claim 104, wherein the digital input or output signal comprises a self-clocking signal, and the active electrical element further comprises a decoder element configured to encode or decode the self-clocking signal.

108. 108. The LED package of claim 107, wherein the self-clocking signal comprises at least one of an 8b / 10b code, a Manchester code, a phase code, a pulse-counting code, an isochronous signal, or a non-isochronous signal.

109. The active electrical element is ２ 105. The LED package of claim 104 configured to transmit or receive at least a subset of signals compatible with the C protocol.

110. 105. The LED package of claim 104, wherein the active electrical element is configured to transmit or receive a differential signal.

111. 111. The LED package of claim 110, wherein the active electrical element is further configured to transmit or receive a low voltage differential signal.

112. 111. The LED package of claim 110, wherein the active electrical element is further configured to transmit or receive current-mode logic.

113. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; an active electrical element configured to change a drive condition of the at least one LED according to an input signal received from an external source, the active electrical element further configured to monitor, store, and output to the external source one or more operating conditions of the LED package.

114. 114. The LED package of claim 113, wherein the active electrical element comprises a thermal management element configured to at least one of monitor and report an operating temperature of the LED package.

115. The active electrical element is a detector configured to at least one of monitor and report an operating voltage or current of the at least one LED.

114. The LED package of claim 113 comprising an element.

116. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; an active electrical element configured to change a drive condition of the at least one LED according to an input signal received from an external source, the active electrical element comprising a detector signal conditioning element configured to detect light incident on the LED package.

117. 117. The LED package of claim 116, wherein a photodiode is configured to input a signal to the detector signal conditioning element based on the incident light.

118. 117. The LED package of claim 116, wherein the at least one LED is configured to input a signal to the detector signal conditioning element based on the light incident thereon.

119. 117. The LED package of claim 116, wherein the at least one LED is configured to provide light emission from the LED package and input a signal to the detector signal conditioning element based on the light incident thereon.

120. 117. The LED package of claim 116, wherein the at least one LED is configured to provide light emission from the LED package, and the detector signal conditioning element is configured to receive a signal corresponding to the light incidence during a setup procedure.

121. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element configured to receive a data value and convert the data value according to a transfer function.

122. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the transfer function is a linear function.

123. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the transfer function is a nonlinear function.

124. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the transfer function includes one or more subsets of transfer function coefficients over which the active electrical elements interpolate.

125. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the transfer function comprises a piecewise transfer function.

126. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the data value comprises a compressed data code received by the active electrical element, the active electrical element configured to convert the compressed data code to an uncompressed data code.

127. 127. The LED package of claim 126, wherein the expanded data code includes a brightness level for the at least one LED.

128. 127. The LED package of claim 126, wherein the expanded data code includes a higher dynamic range than the compressed data code.

129. 127. The LED package of claim 126, wherein the conversion of the compressed data code to the expanded data code occurs as a result of a power law formula for gamma correction.

130. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the at least one LED comprises two or more adjacent LED pixels, and the expanded data code is determined based on expected data redundancy between adjacent ones of the two or more adjacent LED pixels.

131. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the data values ​​are received from multiple sources.

132. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the active electrical element is configured to receive at least one of parameters and options of the transfer function at any of the plurality of connection ports.

133. 133. The LED package of claim 132, wherein the plurality of connection ports comprises a plurality of polarity-independent connection ports.

134. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the transfer function is applied to indicate a temperature measurement of the at least one LED.

135. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the transfer function is applied to indicate a luminance output of the at least one LED.

136. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the active electrical element comprises an analog-to-digital converter, and the transfer function is applied to an output of the analog-to-digital converter.

137. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the active electrical element comprises a pulse width modulation controller, and the transfer function is applied to direct the output of the pulse width modulation controller.

138. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the active electrical element comprises a digital-to-analog converter, and the transfer function is applied to direct an output of the digital-to-analog converter.

139. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the active electrical element is configured to drive the at least one LED and switch between forward and reverse bias states for the at least one LED.

140. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the active electrical element is configured to receive selectable color depth data.

141. 122. The LED package of claim 121, wherein the active electrical element comprises at least two bidirectional communication ports.

142. 122. The LED package of claim 121, further comprising a light-transmitting submount including a first surface and a second surface facing opposite the first surface, wherein the at least one LED and the active electrical element are mounted on the first surface, and the second surface is a primary light-emitting surface of the LED package.

143. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED; The active electrical element is a light emitting diode (LED) package configured to receive selectable color depth data.

144. 144. The LED package of claim 143, wherein the selectable color depth data is in a range including 1-bit color depth to 100-bit color depth.

145. 144. The LED package of claim 143, wherein the selectable color depth data is selectable from any one of 24-bit, 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit color depth.

146. 146. The LED package of claim 145, wherein a particular bit depth is achieved by selecting the next higher bit depth and zero-padding some of the least significant bits for the difference.

147. 144. The LED package of claim 143, wherein the active electrical element is configured to receive a data value and transform the data value according to a transfer function.

148. 144. The LED package of claim 143, wherein the active electrical element is configured to drive the at least one LED and switch between forward and reverse bias states for the at least one LED.

149. 144. The LED package of claim 143, wherein the active electrical element comprises at least two bidirectional communication ports.

150. 144. The LED package of claim 143, further comprising a light-transmitting submount including a first surface and a second surface facing opposite the first surface, wherein the at least one LED and the active electrical element are mounted on the first surface, and the second surface is a primary light-emitting surface of the LED package.

151. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element configured to drive the at least one LED and switch between forward and reverse bias states for the at least one LED.

152. 152. The LED package of claim 151, wherein the active electrical element further comprises a level sensor configured to provide an error signal while the at least one LED is in the reverse bias state.

153. 152. The LED package of claim 151, wherein the active electrical element further comprises an analog-to-digital converter configured to provide a reverse leakage measurement while the at least one LED is in the reverse bias state.

154. 154. The LED package of claim 153, wherein the analog-to-digital converter comprises at least one of an analog filter circuit and a digital filter circuit.

155. 154. The LED package of claim 153, wherein the analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect a voltage related to an operating condition of the at least one LED while the at least one LED is in the reverse bias state.

156. 154. The LED package of claim 153, wherein the analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect a voltage related to an operating condition of the at least one LED while the at least one LED is in the forward bias state.

157. 157. The LED package of claim 156, wherein the active electrical element is configured to adjust a drive signal for the at least one LED based on the voltage detected while the at least one LED is in the forward bias state.

158. 158. The LED package of claim 157, wherein the drive signal comprises a pulse width modulated signal, and the active electrical element is configured to adjust a pulse width modulation duty cycle of the at least one LED.

159. 152. The LED package of claim 151, wherein the active electrical element comprises a resistor network that provides a predetermined current limit for the at least one LED.

160. 152. The LED package of claim 151, wherein the active electrical element comprises a current source that provides an adjustable current to the at least one LED.

161. 152. The LED package of claim 151, wherein the active electrical element comprises an inverter configured to provide the reverse bias condition.

162. 152. The LED package of claim 151, wherein the active electrical element is configured to communicate with and respond to commands from another control element.

163. 152. The LED package of claim 151, wherein the active electrical element is configured to receive a data value and transform the data value according to a transfer function.

164. 152. The LED package of claim 151, wherein the active electrical element is configured to receive selectable color depth data.

165. 152. The LED package of claim 151, wherein the active electrical element comprises at least two bidirectional communication ports.

166. 152. The LED package of claim 151, further comprising a light-transmitting submount including a first surface and a second surface facing opposite the first surface, wherein the at least one LED and the active electrical element are mounted on the first surface, and the second surface is a primary light-emitting surface of the LED package.

167. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element comprising at least one analog-to-digital converter.

168. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the at least one analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect a voltage associated with a reverse leakage measurement of the at least one LED while the at least one LED is in a reverse bias state.

169. The at least one analog-to-digital converter is for the at least one LED.

168. The LED package of claim 167, configured to detect a voltage relative to a forward voltage measurement of

170. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the at least one analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect an electrical short condition of the at least one LED.

171. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the at least one analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect an electrical open condition of the at least one LED.

172. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the active electrical element is configured to adjust a pulse width modulation duty cycle of the at least one LED based on a voltage level detected by the at least one analog to digital converter.

173. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the at least one analog-to-digital converter is configured to transmit measurement data from the at least one LED to the active electrical element for serial output.

174. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the at least one ADC is configured to provide at least one of a reverse leakage measurement and a forward voltage measurement of a plurality of LEDs.

175. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the at least one ADC is configured to provide a temperature measurement by measuring a voltage provided by a thermal sensor.

176. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the active electrical element is configured to drive the at least one LED and switch between forward and reverse bias states for the at least one LED.

177. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the active electrical element is configured to receive a data value and transform the data value according to a transfer function.

178. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the active electrical element is configured to receive selectable color depth data.

179. 168. The LED package of claim 167, wherein the active electrical element further comprises at least two bidirectional communication ports.

180. 168. The LED package of claim 167, further comprising a light-transmitting submount including a first surface and a second surface facing opposite the first surface, wherein the at least one LED and the active electrical element are mounted on the first surface, and the second surface is a primary light-emitting surface of the LED package.

181. 1. A method for controlling a light emitting diode (LED) device, comprising: providing a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal to one or more LED chips, the PWM signal including a PWM period and a PWM duty cycle corresponding to a fraction of the PWM period during which the one or more LED chips are electrically activated; and partitioning the PWM duty cycle such that the one or more LED chips are electrically activated and electrically deactivated multiple times within the PWM period.

182. 182. The method of claim 181, further comprising selectively segmenting the PWM duty cycle so that the one or more LED chips can receive either a segmented duty cycle or a continuous duty cycle.

183. 182. The method of claim 181, further comprising converting a counter signal into a non-numerically ordered counter sequence for the PWM period.

184. 184. The method of claim 183, further comprising the step of comparing a command signal for the one or more LED chips with the non-numerically ordered counter sequence and providing a control signal for the one or more LED chips during the PWM period.

185. 185. The method of claim 184, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence counts a total number of values ​​within the PWM period corresponding to a bit depth of the command signal.

186. 185. The method of claim 184, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by bit-reversal of the counter signal.

187. 185. The method of claim 184, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by partial bit-reversal of the counter signal.

188. 185. The method of claim 184, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by swapping areas of bits corresponding to the counter signals.

189. 185. The method of claim 184, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes eight segments within the PWM period.

190. 185. The method of claim 184, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 16 segments within the PWM period.

191. 185. The method of claim 184, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 32 segments within the PWM period.

192. 185. The method of claim 184, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 64 segments within the PWM period.

193. 182. The method of claim 181, wherein an active electrical element of the LED device is configured to initiate a reset command upon receiving a reset signal.

194. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED chip; an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED chip, the active electrical element comprising: providing a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal to the at least one LED chip, the PWM signal including a PWM period and a PWM duty cycle, the PWM duty cycle corresponding to a portion of the PWM period during which the at least one LED chip is electrically activated; and segmenting the PWM duty cycle such that the at least one LED chip is electrically activated and electrically deactivated multiple times within the PWM period.

195. 200. The LED package of claim 194, wherein the active electrical element is further configured to be selectable between a segmented PWM duty cycle and a continuous PWM duty cycle for the at least one LED chip.

196. 200. The LED package of claim 194, wherein the active electrical element comprises a signal conditioning element configured to convert command signals received from a data stream.

197. 200. The LED package of claim 194, wherein the active electrical element comprises a counter conversion device configured to convert a counter signal into a non-numerically ordered counter sequence for the PWM period.

198. 200. The LED package of claim 197, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by bit-reversal of the counter signal.

199. 200. The LED package of claim 197, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by partial bit-reversal of the counter signal.

200. 200. The LED package of claim 197, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence is formed by swapping sections of bits corresponding to the counter signals.

201. 200. The LED package of claim 197, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes eight segments within the PWM period.

202. 200. The LED package of claim 197, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 16 segments within the PWM period.

203. 200. The LED package of claim 197, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 32 segments within the PWM period.

204. 200. The LED package of claim 197, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence includes 64 segments within the PWM period.

205. 200. The LED package of claim 197, wherein the non-numerically ordered counter sequence counts a total number of values ​​within the PWM period corresponding to a bit depth of a command signal.

206. 200. The LED package of claim 197, wherein the active electrical element comprises a comparator device configured to compare a command signal from a data stream with the non-numerically ordered counter sequence to provide a control signal for the at least one LED chip.

207. 207. The LED package of claim 206, wherein the active electrical element comprises a driver configured to receive the control signal and drive the at least one LED chip.

208. 200. The LED package of claim 194, wherein the active electrical element comprises a memory element configured to receive and store command signals from a data stream.

209. 200. The LED package of claim 194, wherein the at least one LED chip comprises a plurality of LED chips forming at least one LED pixel.

210. 1. A light emitting diode (LED) package comprising: at least one LED; an active electrical element electrically connected to the at least one LED, the active electrical element configured to receive a reset signal comprising at least one pulse of a serial communication signal.

211. 211. The LED package of claim 210, wherein the at least one pulse comprises holding the line state of the serial communication signal in a high or low state for a longer time interval than other pulses of the serial communication signal.

212. 211. The LED package of claim 210, wherein the at least one pulse comprises a plurality of pulses of the serial communication signal.

213. 211. The LED package of claim 210, wherein the active electrical element is further configured to initiate a reset action upon receiving the reset signal.

214. 211. The LED package of claim 210, wherein the active electrical element is further configured to pass the reset signal without initiating a reset action.

215. The active electrical element is providing a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal to the at least one LED, the PWM signal including a PWM period and a PWM duty cycle, the PWM duty cycle corresponding to a portion of the PWM period during which the at least one LED is electrically activated; 211. The LED package of claim 210, further configured to: partition the PWM duty cycle such that the at least one LED is electrically activated and electrically deactivated multiple times within the PWM period.

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