Submount-Free LED Primary Optic Fabrication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current LED package technologies face limitations in fabricating complex primary optics with overhangs or undercuts, which are necessary for beam shaping, due to the use of traditional molding processes that require complex molds and substrates, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
The development of submount-free light emitter packages with primary optics that can include overhangs or tapered shapes, fabricated using methods that do not require complex molds with moving parts, allowing for beam shaping and array manufacturing without secondary optics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If traditional molding processes are used to fabricate primary optics with overhangs or undercuts, then complex beam shaping geometries can be achieved, but the process requires complex molds with moving parts and substrates, increasing manufacturing complexity and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the substrate from the LED package structure, eliminating the need for complex molds with moving parts that are required when molding optics directly onto substrates. This extraction of the substrate element simplifies the molding process while still enabling complex optic geometries with overhangs and undercuts to be fabricated.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of molding the optic onto a substrate using complex molds, the patent inverts the approach by forming the optic geometry directly in the encapsulant material that surrounds the LED chip. This reversal of the traditional molding sequence eliminates the need for complex mold mechanisms while achieving the same complex optic shapes.
2Ease of operation
If secondary optics are used to achieve beam shaping, then the desired light beam profiles can be obtained, but the package size increases and optical efficiency decreases due to additional interfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the beam shaping function with the primary optic that is already present in the LED package. By integrating the beam shaping geometry directly into the primary optic formed in the encapsulant, the need for separate secondary optics is eliminated. This merging of functions reduces the number of optical interfaces, minimizing total internal reflection and Fresnel losses while maintaining beam shaping capability.
3Reliability
If substrate-based LED packages are used, then mechanical support and electrical connections are provided, but the package size is larger and flexibility in optical design is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the substrate element from the package structure, allowing for more flexible optical designs that are not constrained by substrate geometry. Without the substrate, the optic geometry can be optimized purely for optical performance, enabling a wider range of beam profiles and optical configurations while maintaining mechanical support through alternative means.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the LED package substrate-free, allowing the same package structure to be used in multiple applications with different optical requirements. By eliminating the substrate constraint, the same basic package design can accommodate various optic geometries and beam shaping needs, increasing design versatility and adaptability across different applications.
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 enables efficient and cost-effective fabrication of primary optics that can shape light beams over light emitters, reducing the need for secondary optics and improving optical efficiency by minimizing total internal reflection and Fresnel losses, while allowing for smaller package sizes and more flexible optical designs.
Implementation Method 1
minimizing total internal reflection and Fresnel losses
Implementation Method 2
minimizing total internal reflection and Fresnel losses
Data Source
AI summary
A submount-free light emitter package with primary optic and method of fabricating the same are disclosed, these packages and methods comprising a light emitter with an optic. The optic may have a shape, which includes a portion that is wider at a point further from the light emitter than a point which is closer. The method includes a light emitter disposed on a carrier surface with at least one structure at least partially surrounding the light emitter. The encapsulant is over the light emitter forming a primary optic. The intermediate element at least partially defines the shape of the primary optic.