Light emitting device having a transparent thermally conductive layer

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a transparent thermally conductive layer;

a phosphor layer provided on and in direct contact with the transparent thermally conductive layer; and

at least one light emitting semiconductor arranged to emit light toward the transparent thermally conductive layer and the phosphor layer,

wherein the transparent thermally conductive layer has a thermal conductivity greater than the thermal conductivity of the phosphor layer and is configured to couple the phosphor layer to a heat sink by direct contact between the transparent thermally conductive layer and a metal housing, and between the metal housing and the heat sink to dissipate heat from the phosphor layer.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the phosphor layer comprises a plurality of phosphor sections.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the phosphor sections are an array of phosphor dots.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the phosphor sections are a plurality of separate phosphor patterns.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein each of the phosphor sections comprises a plurality of phosphor layers stacked one on top of another.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein each of the plurality of phosphor layers are stacked in an alternating manner with each of a plurality of transparent thermally conductive layers.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of phosphor layers are thermally coupled to a heat sink via at least one of the plurality of transparent thermally conductive layers.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the phosphor sections is configured to produce light of a color different from that of at least another one of the phosphor sections.

9. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the phosphor sections comprises phosphor particles of a type different from that of at least another one of the phosphor sections.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a recessed housing comprising a cavity, wherein the cavity is hermetically sealed.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the transparent thermally conductive layer is formed of a material selected from a group consisting of glass, sapphire, and diamond.

12. An apparatus, comprising:

a stack of layers comprising at least one transparent thermally conductive layer and at least one phosphor layer in direct thermal contact with the transparent thermally conductive layer; and

at least one light emitting semiconductor arranged to emit light toward the stack,

wherein the at least one transparent thermally conductive layer has a thermal conductivity greater than the thermal conductivity of the phosphor layer and is configured to couple the at least one phosphor layer to a heat sink by direct contact between the transparent thermally conductive layer and a metal housing, and between the metal housing and the heat sink to dissipate heat from the at least one phosphor layer.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the at least one transparent thermally conductive layer and the at least one phosphor layer are stacked in an alternating manner.

14. A method for manufacturing a light emitting device, comprising:

depositing at least one phosphor mixture directly onto a transparent thermally conductive layer, the thermally conductive layer having a thermal conductivity greater than the thermal conductivity of the phosphor layer and configured to couple the at least one phosphor mixture to a heat sink by direct contact between the transparent thermally conductive layer and a metal housing, and between the metal housing and the heat sink to dissipate heat from the at least one phosphor mixture.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein one of the phosphor mixtures is deposited in a first array of phosphor sections and another one of the phosphor mixtures is deposited in a second array of phosphor sections such that the phosphor sections of the first array do not overlap the phosphor sections of the second array.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein at least one of the phosphor mixtures is configured to produce light of a color different from that of at least another one of the phosphor mixtures.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein at least one of the phosphor mixtures comprises phosphor particles of a type different from that of at least another one of the phosphor mixtures.