Abstract:
Various applications and customizations of a thin flexible LED light sheet are described. Microscopic LED dice are printed on a thin substrate, and the LEDs are sandwiched between two conductor layers to connect the LEDs in parallel. The conductor layer on the light emitting side is transparent. In one embodiment, small dots of printed blue LED dies with overlapping dots of a YAG (yellow) phosphor are formed on a substrate, with the areas between the dots being a neutral color or an anti-color (blue for a yellow phosphor).The LED dies are connected in parallel. When the LED dies are in their off state, the yellow phosphor dots will not be perceived by human eyesight at typical viewing distances, and the overall resulting color will be either a pleasing off-white color or a neutral color. The lamp will appear white when the LED dies are on.
Abstract:
A laminate capable of emitting light comprises a reflective layer. The reflective layer increases the amount of light output from the laminate. A lighting apparatus containing the improved laminate is also provided.
Abstract:
Various applications and customizations of a thin flexible LED light sheet are described. Microscopic LED dice are printed on a thin substrate, and the LEDs are sandwiched between two conductor layers to connect the LEDs in parallel. The conductor layer on the light emitting side is transparent. In one embodiment, the light sheet is applied to the bottom surface of a controllable display to serve as a backlight. In another embodiment, the light sheet is applied to the edge of a leaky light guide for backlighting. In another embodiment, a thin light-emitting edge of the light sheet is coupled to the edge of the leaky light guide for backlighting. In another embodiment, the light sheet is affixed to a medical instrument, and light is emitted from a thin light-emitting edge of the light sheet. In one embodiment, the light sheet is optically coupled to an optical fiber.
Abstract:
An exemplary printable composition comprises a liquid or gel suspension of a plurality of metallic nanofibers or nanowires; a first solvent; and a viscosity modifier, resin, or binder. In various embodiments, the metallic nanofibers are between about 10 microns to about 100 microns in length, are between about 10 nm to about 120 nm in diameter, and are typically functionalized with a coating or partial coating of polyvinyl pyrrolidone or a similar compound. An exemplary metallic nanofiber ink which can be printed to produce a substantially transparent conductor comprises a plurality of metallic nanofibers; one or more solvents such as 1-butanol, ethanol, 1-pentanol, n-methylpyrrolidone, cyclohexanone, cyclopentanone, 1-hexanol, acetic acid, cyclohexanol, or mixtures thereof; and a viscosity modifier, resin, or binder such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone or a polyimide, for example.
Abstract:
An exemplary printable composition of a liquid or gel suspension of diodes comprises a plurality of diodes, a first solvent and/or a viscosity modifier. In other exemplary embodiments a second solvent is also included, and the composition has a viscosity substantially between about 100 cps and about 25,000 cps at about 25° C. In an exemplary embodiment, a composition comprises: a plurality of diodes or other two-terminal integrated circuits; one or more solvents comprising about 15% to 99.9% of any of N-propanol, isopropanol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1-methoxy-2-propanol, N-octanol, ethanol, tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol, cyclohexanol, and mixtures thereof; a viscosity modifier comprising about 0.10% to 2.5% methoxy propyl methylcellulose resin or hydroxy propyl methylcellulose resin or mixtures thereof; and about 0.01% to 2.5% of a plurality of substantially optically transparent and chemically inert particles having a range of sizes between about 10 to about 50 microns.
Abstract:
An exemplary printable composition of a liquid or gel suspension of diodes generally includes a plurality of diodes, a first solvent and/or a viscosity modifier. An exemplary apparatus may include a plurality of diodes; at least a trace amount of a first solvent; and a polymeric or resin film at least partially surrounding each diode of the plurality of diodes. Various exemplary diodes have a lateral dimension between about 10 to 50 microns and about 5 to 25 microns in height. Other embodiments may also include a plurality of substantially chemically inert particles having a range of sizes between about 10 to about 50 microns.
Abstract:
A flexible light sheet includes a bottom conductor layer overlying a flexible substrate. An array of vertical light emitting diodes (VLEDs) is printed as an ink over the bottom conductor layer so that bottom electrodes of the VLEDs electrically contact the bottom conductor layer. A top electrode of the VLEDs is formed of a first transparent conductor layer, and a temporary hydrophobic layer is formed over the first transparent conductor layer. A dielectric material is deposited between the VLEDs but is automatically de-wetted off the hydrophobic layer. The hydrophobic layer is then removed, and a second transparent conductor layer is deposited to electrically contact the top electrode of the VLEDs. The VLEDs can be made less than 10 microns in diameter since no top metal bump electrode is used. The VLEDs are illuminated by a voltage differential between the bottom conductor layer and the second transparent conductor layer.
Abstract:
An LED module is disclosed containing an integrated driver transistor (e.g, a MOSFET) in series with an LED. In one embodiment, LED layers are grown over a substrate. The transistor regions are formed over the same substrate. After the LED layers, such as GaN layers, are grown to form the LED portion, a central area of the LED is etched away to expose a semiconductor surface in which the transistor regions are formed. A conductor connects the transistor in series with the LED. Another node of the transistor is electrically coupled to an electrode on the bottom surface of the substrate. In one embodiment, an anode of the LED is connected to one terminal of the module, one current carrying node of the transistor is connected to a second terminal of the module, and the control terminal of the transistor is connected to a third terminal of the module.
Abstract:
A printed energy storage device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a separator between the first and the second electrode. At least one of the first electrode, the second electrode, and the separator includes frustules, for example of diatoms. The frustules may have a uniform or substantially uniform property or attribute such as shape, dimension, and/or porosity. A property or attribute of the frustules can also be modified by applying or forming a surface modifying structure and/or material to a surface of the frustules. A membrane for an energy storage device includes frustules. An ink for a printed film includes frustules.
Abstract:
A layer of microscopic printed VLEDs is sandwiched between a first conductor layer and a transparent second conductor layer so that light exits the second conductor layer. Touch sensor electrodes are formed overlying the VLED layer so that the VLEDs illuminate the touch sensor. In one embodiment, the touch sensor electrodes are independent from the conductor layers for the VLEDs. In another embodiment, the transparent second conductor layer also serves as a touch sensor electrode. In another embodiment, both the conductor layers for the VLEDs serve as touch sensor electrodes. The conductor layers for the VLEDs may be segmented in groups to selectively illuminate groups of the VLEDs under each touch sensor position. The touch sensor electrodes may be transparent or opaque, depending on whether the electrodes are intended to allow the VLED light to pass through.