Conductive Substrate Groove Segmentation for LED Thermal Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for fabricating conductive substrates for electronic devices, particularly optoelectronic devices like LEDs, are costly and often compromise heat transfer and efficiency due to the use of insulating materials that can interfere with thermal paths.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the formation of grooves in a semiconductor substrate, filling these grooves with polymer insulating material, and then thinning and singulating the substrate to create conductive substrates with polymer-filled grooves that separate semiconductor substrates for improved electrical and thermal isolation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If insulating materials are deposited or grown on substrate surfaces to achieve electrical isolation, then electrical isolation is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases and heat transfer is adversely affected
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is divided into isolated regions by grooves that physically segment the conductive paths. These grooves create discrete isolation zones without requiring continuous insulating layers, reducing material costs and manufacturing complexity while maintaining electrical isolation between adjacent elements
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of adding insulating materials in the vertical dimension (deposition/growth), the patent uses grooves that extend in the horizontal plane to achieve isolation. This dimensional approach eliminates the need for specialized deposition equipment and reduces manufacturing steps
2Reliability
If insulating materials are deposited or grown on substrate surfaces to achieve electrical isolation, then electrical isolation is achieved, but heat transfer performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The grooves segment the substrate into isolated conductive regions while maintaining thermal pathways. By creating discrete isolation zones rather than continuous insulating barriers, heat can still flow through the substrate around the grooves, preserving heat transfer performance while achieving electrical isolation
Solution Approach 2:
The grooves provide localized electrical isolation only where needed between specific elements, while the rest of the substrate maintains its original thermal conductivity. This selective isolation approach preserves overall heat transfer paths while achieving necessary electrical separation
3Reliability
If specialized deposition or oxidation apparatus are used to deposit or grow insulating layers, then electrical isolation is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The grooves create physical segmentation that achieves electrical isolation through geometry rather than material properties. This eliminates the need for complex deposition or oxidation equipment, as the isolation is achieved through simple groove formation using conventional fabrication techniques
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the isolation function from complex material deposition processes and replaces it with simple geometric features (grooves). This removes the dependency on specialized apparatus while maintaining the electrical isolation function
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
This approach reduces thermal resistance, enhances brightness and efficiency, and improves the reliability of optoelectronic devices while being cost-effective by using polymer-filled grooves for electrical and thermal isolation.
Implementation Method 1
filling the grooves with a polymer insulating material to form polymer filled grooves
Implementation Method 2
Each polymer filled groove extends completely across the conductive substrate from edge to edge... configured to separate the conductive substrate into a first semiconductor substrate and a second semiconductor substrate... reduces thermal resistance
Data Source
AI summary
A method for fabricating a conductive substrate for an electronic device includes the steps of providing a semiconductor substrate; forming a plurality of grooves part way through the semiconductor substrate; filling the grooves with a polymer insulating material to form a plurality of polymer filled grooves; thinning the substrate from the back side to expose the polymer filled grooves; and singulating the semiconductor substrate into a plurality of conductive substrates. An optoelectronic device includes a conductive substrate; a polymer filled groove configured to separate the conductive substrate into a first semiconductor substrate and a second semiconductor substrate; a first front side electrode on the first semiconductor substrate and a second front side electrode on the second semiconductor substrate; and a light emitting diode (LED) chip on the first semiconductor substrate in electrical communication with the first front side electrode and with the second front side electrode.