Integrated LED Arrays with Backside Driver Electronics
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing complexity of light-emitting diode (LED) arrays is high due to large substrate sizes required for supporting materials and connections, leading to reduced assembly yield and high power consumption from driver circuitry.
Innovation Solution
An integrated LED array device with light-emitting pixels on one side of a substrate and control electronics on the other, connected via conductive interconnects, allowing for standard semiconductor manufacturing processes and reduced power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If arrays are manufactured by depositing materials on a supporting substrate with edge-addressed driver connections, then the array can be manufactured using conventional processes, but the substrate size becomes larger than the array size due to necessary I/O pads, greatly reducing assembly yield
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from edge-addressed connections (1D boundary connections) to back-illuminated through-substrate connections (2D surface connections). By moving the driver circuitry to the back surface of the substrate and establishing vertical through-substrate vias, the connection interface is extended from the edges to the entire back surface, eliminating the need for large peripheral I/O pads and enabling high-density pixel arrays with excellent yield.
2Area of stationary object
If very small contact pads are provided to increase the array size, then the array area increases, but the assembly yield is greatly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention moves the connection interface from the edges (1D) to the back surface (2D), allowing the entire back surface to serve as the connection area. This eliminates the trade-off between array size and contact pad size, as the pixel array can extend to the edges while connections are established through the substrate from the back surface.
3Ease of operation
If driver circuitry is integrated with the LED array, then the display can be controlled, but the power consumption increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the driver circuitry from the front surface integration approach and places it on the back surface of the substrate. This separation allows the driver circuitry to be independently optimized and connected through the substrate, reducing the power consumption overhead and simplifying the manufacturing process by using standard semiconductor through-substrate via techniques.
4Ease of operation
If driver circuitry is integrated with the LED array, then the display can be controlled, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By extracting the driver circuitry to the back surface and using through-substrate vias for connection, the patent simplifies the manufacturing process. This approach leverages conventional semiconductor fabrication techniques and avoids the complexity of co-integrating drivers and LEDs on the same layer, making the overall manufacturing less complex despite maintaining full control capability.
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 simplifies processing, reduces costs, and enables high-resolution, energy-efficient LED displays with low power consumption, suitable for various applications including portable devices and virtual reality displays.
Implementation Method 1
an array of light-emitting pixels formed on the first side, each pixel including at least one light-emitting element
Data Source
AI summary
Integrated active-matrix light-emitting pixel arrays based devices and methods of forming the integrated pixel arrays based devices are provided. In one aspect, a device includes a semiconductor substrate having a first side and a second side opposite to the first side and an array of active-matrix light-emitting pixels formed on the first side, each of the light-emitting pixels including at least one light-emitting element and at least one non-volatile memory coupled to the at least one light-emitting element. The at least non-volatile memory includes at least one transistor, and the at least one light-emitting element includes multiple layers epitaxially grown on a semiconductor surface of the semiconductor substrate on the first side. The device can further include scanning drivers and data drivers formed on the first side of the semiconductor substrate and coupled to the light-emitting pixels through corresponding word lines and data lines formed on the first side.