Compound-Eye Micro Lens Layout for Low-Loss Light Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current micro lenses in light-emitting units cause significant light loss and reduce display performance due to their structures, sizes, and materials, leading to inefficiencies in light guidance and imaging.
Innovation Solution
A light-emitting unit with a substrate, a light-emitting element, and micro lenses featuring compound eye structures with specific aspect ratios and refractive indices, along with reflective walls, to minimize light loss and enhance light extraction efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If conventional micro lenses are used, then light guidance is achieved, but significant light loss occurs and display performance is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The micro lens is divided into multiple compound eye structures arranged in an array, where each compound eye structure contains multiple lens elements. This segmentation increases the total light collection area while reducing light loss through optimized light paths across multiple lens elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The micro lens uses composite optical structures combining multiple lens materials with different refractive indices in the compound eye structures. This allows optimized light refraction and reduction of optical losses while maintaining imaging quality and display performance.
2Area of stationary object
If micro lens size is increased to improve light collection, then light collection area increases, but alignment with light-emitting elements becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The micro lens is segmented into multiple compound eye structures that can be independently aligned with light-emitting elements. Each compound eye structure contains multiple smaller lens elements that collectively provide large light collection area while maintaining precise alignment through modular configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The compound eye structures are arranged in a two-dimensional array pattern, allowing the micro lens to achieve large light collection area in the lateral dimensions while maintaining thin profile in the vertical dimension. This dimensional arrangement facilitates alignment with planar light-emitting elements.
3Ease of manufacture
If micro lens structure is simplified for ease of manufacture, then manufacturing becomes easier, but light extraction efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The micro lens is manufactured as an array of compound eye structures that can be produced using standard semiconductor fabrication techniques. The segmented design allows for modular manufacturing processes that balance manufacturing ease with optimized light extraction through multiple lens elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical parameters of the compound eye structures, including curvature radii and refractive indices, are optimized to achieve high light extraction efficiency. The manufacturing process parameters are also tuned to produce the precise geometric configurations needed for optimal optical performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces light loss, increases light collection areas, and improves light extraction efficiency by optimizing the shape and refractive index of micro lenses, maintaining the shape of light spots while enhancing display performance.
Implementation Method 1
The micro lens has a refractive index between about 1.7 and about 1.9
Implementation Method 2
The reflective layer is disposed between the substrate and the light-emitting element as well as between the substrate and the micro lens
Data Source
AI summary
A light-emitting unit includes a substrate, a light-emitting element, and a micro lens. The light-emitting element is disposed on the substrate. The micro lens surrounds the light-emitting element. The micro lens includes compound eye structures adjacent to each other. In a top view, each compound eye structure has a length and a width, and the light-emitting element has a length and a width. The length and width of each compound eye structure in the top view and the length and width of the light-emitting element in the top view substantially satisfy 1≤(L1/W1)/(L2/W2)≤1.5, in which W1 is the width of the light-emitting element in the top view, L1 is the length of the light-emitting element in the top view, W2 is the width of each compound eye structure in the top view, and L2 is the length of each compound eye structure in the top view.