Light Emitting Substrate Grooves for Lens-Aligned Beam Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In light emitting devices using surface-emitting lasers, stray light and return light issues occur due to light being directed towards incorrect lenses or being reflected, leading to reduced light emission efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a light emitting device with a substrate featuring grooves surrounding lenses, where the groove's side surfaces have inclination angles between 80 degrees and 100 degrees, ensuring total reflection and efficient light incidence onto the lenses, and an insulating film with a refractive index of 2.3 or less is used to enhance light reflection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If light emitting elements are arranged in a two-dimensional array on the substrate, then the light emission coverage is improved, but stray light is generated when light is directed toward incorrect lenses
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is segmented into multiple regions by forming grooves between adjacent lenses. These grooves divide the continuous substrate surface into discrete zones, each associated with a specific lens and light emitting element, thereby preventing light from spilling into adjacent regions and causing stray light.
Solution Approach 2:
Material is extracted from the substrate to form grooves that surround each lens. By removing material in these specific locations, the patent creates physical barriers that isolate each lens optically, preventing cross-contamination of light between adjacent elements while maintaining the overall array structure.
2Loss of energy
If light is emitted toward the corresponding lens, then the light utilization efficiency is improved, but return light occurs when light is reflected before reaching the lens
Solution Approach 1:
The grooves with inclined side surfaces convert potentially harmful reflected light into beneficial directed light. When light reflects off the inclined surfaces of the grooves, the specific inclination angles (80-100 degrees) are designed to redirect this reflected light toward the corresponding lens, transforming what would be stray or return light into useful light that reaches the intended target.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If grooves are formed in the substrate, then stray light is suppressed, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies precise parameter ranges for the groove inclination angles (80-100 degrees relative to the substrate surface). By optimizing this single geometric parameter within a defined range, the design achieves effective stray light suppression while maintaining manufacturability. This parameter-based approach allows for standardized fabrication processes and reduces the need for complex custom geometries.
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 configuration effectively suppresses stray and return light, ensuring that light from the light emitting elements is suitably incident on the lenses, thereby improving light utilization efficiency and reducing crosstalk.
Implementation Method 1
the light emitted from the light emitting element can be totally reflected by the first side surface, and this light can be suitably incident on the first lens
Implementation Method 2
an insulating film with a refractive index of 2.3 or less is used to enhance light reflection
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a light emitting device, a method for manufacturing the light emitting device, and a distance measuring device capable of suitably allowing light emitted from a light emitting element to be incident on a lens. A light emitting device of the present disclosure includes: a substrate; a plurality of light emitting elements provided on a first surface side of the substrate; and a plurality of lenses provided on a second surface side of the substrate, in which the substrate includes a first groove having a shape surrounding a first lens included in the plurality of lenses, the first groove has a first side surface provided on the first lens side and a second side surface provided on an opposite side of the first lens, and an inclination angle of the first side surface with respect to the first surface or the second surface is 80 degrees or more and 100 degrees or less.