SEMICONDUCTOR LIGHT EMITTING DEVICES INCLUDING FLEXIBLE UNITARY FILM HAVING AN OPTICAL ELEMENT THEREIN
A semiconductor light emitting device includes a substrate having a face, a flexible unitary film that includes an optical element therein on the face, and a semiconductor light emitting element between the substrate and the flexible film that is configured to emit light through the optical element. The flexible unitary film extends conformally on the face of the substrate outside the semiconductor light emitting element and also extends on the semiconductor light emitting element.
1 . A semiconductor light emitting device comprising:
a substrate having a face;
a flexible unitary film that includes therein an optical element, on the face; and
a semiconductor light emitting element between the substrate and the flexible unitary film and configured to emit light through the optical element;
wherein the flexible unitary film extends conformally on the face of the substrate outside the semiconductor light emitting element and also extends on the semiconductor light emitting element.
2 . A semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1 wherein the flexible unitary film is attached to the substrate such that the flexible unitary film conforms to the light emitting device as it expands and contracts during operation thereof.
3 . A device according to claim 1 wherein the optical element comprises a lens.
4 . A device according to claim 1 wherein the optical element comprises a prism.
5 . A device according to claim 4 wherein the semiconductor light emitting element includes a wire that extends towards the flexible unitary film and wherein the prism is configured to reduce shadowing by the wire, of the light that is emitted from the semiconductor light emitting element.
6 . A device according to claim 3 further comprising phosphor on the flexible unitary film between the lens and the semiconductor light emitting element.
7 . A device according to claim 6 wherein the lens includes a concave inner surface adjacent the semiconductor light emitting element and wherein the phosphor comprises a conformal phosphor layer on the concave inner surface.
8 . A device according to claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the flexible unitary film that overlies the semiconductor light emitting element is transparent to the light and wherein at least a portion of the flexible unitary film that extends conformally on the face outside the semiconductor light emitting element is opaque to the light.
9 . A device according to claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the flexible unitary film that overlies the semiconductor light emitting element comprises a first material and wherein at least a portion of the flexible unitary film that extends on the face outside the semiconductor light emitting element comprises a second material that is different from the first material.
10 . A device according to claim 1 wherein the flexible unitary film includes a first face adjacent the substrate and a second face remote from the substrate and wherein the optical element comprises a first optical element on the first face and a second optical element on the second face, both of which are located such that the semiconductor light emitting element emits light through the first optical element and the second optical element.
11 . A device according to claim 1 further comprising an attachment element that is configured to attach the flexible unitary film and the substrate to one another.
12 . A device according to claim 1 wherein the optical element is a first optical element and the semiconductor light emitting element is a first semiconductor light emitting element, the flexible unitary film including therein a second optical element that is spaced apart from the first optical element, the device further comprising a second semiconductor light emitting element between the substrate and the flexible unitary film and configured to emit light through the second optical element.
13 . A device according to claim 12 wherein the flexible unitary film extends conformally on the face of the substrate outside the second semiconductor light emitting element and also extends on the second semiconductor light emitting element.
14 . A device according to claim 13 further comprising a first phosphor layer on the flexible unitary film between the first optical element and the first semiconductor light emitting element and a second phosphor layer on the flexible unitary film between the second optical element and the second semiconductor light emitting element.
15 . A device according to claim 14 wherein the first and second phosphor layers comprise different phosphors.
16 . A device according to claim 1 wherein the semiconductor light emitting element comprises a light emitting diode.
17 . A device according to claim 12 wherein the flexible unitary film includes therein a third optical element that is spaced apart from the first and second optical elements, the device further comprising a third semiconductor light emitting element between the substrate and the flexible unitary film and configured to emit light through the third optical element.
18 . A device according to claim 17 further comprising a first phosphor layer on the flexible unitary film between the first optical element and the first semiconductor light emitting element, a second phosphor layer on the flexible unitary film between the second optical element and the second semiconductor light emitting element and a third phosphor layer on the flexible unitary film between the third optical element and the third semiconductor light emitting element.
19 . A device according to claim 18 wherein the first phosphor layer and the first semiconductor light emitting element are configured to generate red light, the second phosphor layer and the second semiconductor light emitting element are configured to generate blue light and the third phosphor layer and the third semiconductor light emitting element are configured to generate green light.
20 . A device according to claim 1 wherein the optical element comprises phosphor.
21 . A device according to claim 20 wherein the optical element comprises a lens having phosphor dispersed therein.
22 . A device according to claim 1 wherein the optical element comprises an optical emission enhancing and/or converting element.
23 . A device according to claim 1 wherein the optical element comprises an optical scattering element.
24 . A device according to claim 1 further comprising an optical coupling media between the optical element and the semiconductor light emitting element.