Enhanced luminous efficiency of phosphor-converted LEDs by using back reflector to increase reflectivity for yellow light.

Abstract

To obtain high reflectivity over a broad range of green, yellow, and red light as well as blue light incidents from a particular angular range and further increase the luminous efficiency of a phosphor-converted white LED packaging module, a novel back hybrid reflector including a SiO(2) total internal reflection layer (TIR), five-pair SiO(2)/TiO(2) double distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) stacks, and a gold (Au) metallic mirror was designed and fabricated. The double DBR stacks have layers configured to reflect green, yellow, and red light as well as blue light, which includes a first portion where the thickness of the layers are relatively larger, and also includes a second portion where the thickness of the layers is relatively smaller. Light that is passing toward the hybrid reflector at angles greater than the critical angle (56°) is reflected by the SiO(2) TIR layer at the sapphire/SiO(2) interface, whereas the light that passes through the SiO(2) TIR layer with incident angles between 0° and 56° is reflected by the double DBR stacks. The overall hybrid reflector can ensure a reflectivity of more than 95% in both the blue light wavelength region and the yellow light wavelength region. The obtained higher reflectivity in the yellow light wavelength region will benefit the phosphor-converted LEDs because yellow light backscattered by phosphor particles is reflected upward.