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Title:
LED, LED CHIP AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2011/050640
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
A method for manufacturing a light emitting diode chip is provided. The method may comprise the steps of: providing a substrate (1) formed with a rough surface comprising a plurality of micro-bulges (12) on an upper surface of the substrate (1); forming a first type semiconductor layer (2), a light emitting layer (3) and a second type semiconductor layer (4) on the upper surface of the substrate (1) successively; etching parts of the second type semiconductor layer (4) and the light emitting layer (3) successively to form an electrode bonding area (22) on the first type semiconductor layer (2); and forming a first electrode structure (8) on the electrode bonding area (22) and forming a second electrode structure (7) on part of the second type semiconductor layer (4). A LED chip and a LED comprising the same are also provided.

Inventors:
SU XILIN (CN)
XIE CHUNLIN (CN)
HU HONGPO (CN)
ZHANG WANG (CN)
Application Number:
PCT/CN2010/075760
Publication Date:
May 05, 2011
Filing Date:
August 06, 2010
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
BYD CO LTD (CN)
SU XILIN (CN)
XIE CHUNLIN (CN)
HU HONGPO (CN)
ZHANG WANG (CN)
International Classes:
H01L33/00
Foreign References:
CN101009344A2007-08-01
CN1641890A2005-07-20
CN2867600Y2007-02-07
US20060273333A12006-12-07
CN1652367A2005-08-10
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
TSINGYIHUA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LLC (Trade BuildingZhaolanyuan, Tsinghua University, Haidian, Beijing 4, CN)
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Claims:
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for manufacturing a light emitting diode (LED) chip, comprising the steps of: a) providing a substrate formed with a rough surface comprising a plurality of micro-bulges on an upper surface of the substrate;

b) forming a first type semiconductor layer, a light emitting layer and a second type semiconductor layer on the upper surface of the substrate successively;

c) etching parts of the second type semiconductor layer and the light emitting layer successively to form an electrode bonding area on the first type semiconductor layer; and

d) forming a first electrode structure on the electrode bonding area and forming a second electrode structure on part of the second type semiconductor layer.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising step al): polishing the rough surface of the substrate to form a uniform crystal plane on tops of the micro-bulges before step b). 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the micro-bulges are of pyramidal frustum shapes.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first type semiconductor layer, the light emitting layer and the second type semiconductor layer are formed successively on the upper surface of the substrate via ELOG or LEPS process in step b).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the micro-bulges are of pyramidal shapes.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rough surface of the substrate has a roughness average (Ra) of about 0.05-5 μπι.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the rough surface of the substrate has a peak spacing (Rsm) of about 0.05-5 μπι. 8. The method according to claim 2, further comprising a step a2): corroding the substrate by using a corrosion solution at a temperature of about 20-400 °C for about 5-60 minutes after the step al).

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the corrosion solution consists of 98 wt% H2S04 and 63 wt% H3PO4 with a proportion of about 1 : 1 to about 5: 1.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of forming a current diffusing layer on the second type semiconductor layer before step d).

11. The method according to claim 10, before the step of forming a current diffusing layer, further comprising the step of forming a two-dimensional electron gas diffusing layer on the second type semiconductor layer.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, after step d), further comprising the steps of:

thinning a lower surface of the substrate by grinding;

providing a base plate comprising a third electrode structure corresponding to the first electrode structure and a fourth electron structure corresponding to the second electrode structure; and

inverting the substrate, and coupling the third electrode structure to the first electrode structure and coupling the fourth electron structure to the second electrode structure to form a LED flip chip.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising the step of forming a first reflecting layer on the region of the second semiconductor uncovered by the second electrode structure before the step of thinning a lower surface of the substrate by grinding.

14. A LED chip, comprising:

a substrate comprising a plurality of micro-bulges on an upper surface of the substrate;

a first type semiconductor layer formed on the upper surface of the substrate;

an electrode bonding area formed on a first region of the first type semiconductor layer; a light emitting layer formed on a part of the first type semiconductor layer;

a second type semiconductor layer formed on the light emitting layer;

a first electrode structure formed on the electrode bonding area; and

a second electrode structure formed on a part of the second type semiconductor layer.

15. The light emitting diode chip according to claim 14, wherein the tops of the micro-bulges are processed in a uniform crystal plane.

16. The light emitting diode chip according to claim 15, wherein the micro-bulges are of pyramidal frustum shapes.

17. The light emitting diode chip according to claim 14, wherein the rough surface of the substrate has a roughness average (Ra) of about 0.05-5 μιη.

18. The light emitting diode chip according to claim 17, wherein the rough surface of the substrate has a peak spacing (Rsm) of about 0.05-5 μιη.

19. The light emitting diode chip according to claim 14, further comprising a current diffusing layer formed between the second type semiconductor layer and the second electrode structure.

20. The light emitting diode chip according to claim 19, further comprising a two-dimensional electron gas diffusing layer formed between the second type semiconductor layer and the current diffusing layer. 21. The light emitting diode chip according to any one of claims 14-20, further comprising a base plate, which comprises a third electrode structure corresponding to and connected with the first electrode structure and a fourth electron structure corresponding to and connected with the second electrode structure. 22. The light emitting diode chip according to claim 21, wherein a first reflecting layer is formed on the region of the second type semiconductor uncovered by the second electrode structure.

23. A LED, comprising:

a base;

a package body matched with the base;

a fifth electrode structure and a sixth electrode structure with an opposite polarity to the fifth electrode structure, disposed on the base; and

a LED chip according to claim 14, disposed between the base and the package body, which is energized by the fifth and sixth electrode structures.

Description:
LED, LED CHIP AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to, and benefits of Chinese Patent Application Serial No. 200910109947.5, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of P. R. C. on October 29, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor field, and more particularly, to a light emitting diode (LED) chip, a method of forming the LED chip, and a LED using the same.

BACKGROUND

A light emitting diode (LED) chip is an electroluminescent device, which illuminates by electron-hole recombination in the region near the P-N junction. An N-type layer, a light emitting layer, a P-type layer, an N-type electrode layer and a P-type electrode layer of the LED chip in the prior art were formed successively on a substrate with a smooth plane by epitaxy or other processes. Because the lattice constant of the substrate material is not match with the one of the material for the epitaxial layer (the N-type layer, the light emitting layer and the P-type layer), if depositing the epitaxial layers mentioned above on the substrate directly, the stress in the lattice can't be released, the defects density in the epitaxial layers will be high, which will increase the probability of non-radiative electron-hole recombination and decrease the luminous efficiency.

Still further, the energy generated by the non-radiative recombination is released as heat, which may increase the temperature of LED and then decrease the life and stability of LED.

Secondly, according to the principle of light refraction, if light travels from a medium with a higher refractive index to a medium with a lower refractive index, the light will be partially refracted at the boundary surface when light crosses the boundary between the two materials. However, if the incidence angle is equal to a critical angle, the light is refracted such that it will travel along the boundary surface, that is the refraction angle is 90°. If the incidence angle is greater than the critical angle, the light will stop crossing the boundary altogether and instead be totally reflected back internally. Because of the lack of package materials with a high refractive index, a resin is usually used instead as the package material.

The refractive index of the resin is lower than that of the main material GaN of the LED chip. According to the principle of total internal reflection, for the conventional LED, because of the non-radiative electron-hole recombination, most of light will be converted into heat, which may not only decrease the light extraction efficiency, but also the luminous efficiency of the LED because of the lower probability of the radiative electron-hole recombination which is caused by the higher temperature. Furthermore, the higher temperature may affect the life and stability of LED. Therefore, the conventional LED may have the defects of low light extraction efficiency and stability. SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to solve at least one of the problems existing in the prior art. Accordingly, a light emitting diode (LED) chip with high light extraction efficiency, a method for forming the LED chip, and a LED comprising the LED chip are provided.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing a LED chip may be provided, comprising the steps of: providing a substrate formed with a rough surface comprising a plurality of micro-bulges on an upper surface of the substrate; forming a first type semiconductor layer, a light emitting layer and a second type semiconductor layer on the upper surface of the substrate successively; etching parts of the second type semiconductor layer and the light emitting layer successively to form an electrode bonding area on the first type semiconductor layer; and forming a first electrode structure on the electrode bonding area and forming a second electrode structure on the second type semiconductor layer.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a LED chip may be provided, comprising: a substrate with a plurality of micro-bulges on an upper surface thereof; a first type semiconductor layer formed on the upper surface of the substrate; an electrode bonding area formed on the first type semiconductor layer; a light emitting layer formed on a part of the first type semiconductor layer; a second type semiconductor layer formed on the light emitting layer; a first electrode structure formed on the electrode bonding area; and a second electrode structure formed on a part of the second type semiconductor layer.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, a LED may be provided, comprising: a base; a package body matched with the base; a fifth electrode structure and a sixth electrode structure with an opposite polarity to the fifth electrode structure, disposed on the base; and a LED chip mentioned above, disposed between the base and the package body, which is energized by the third and fourth electrode structures.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the surface is rough due to the plurality of micro-bulges formed thereon, thus reducing the probability of total internal reflection of the LED chip by changing the light transmission angle, and improving the external quantum efficiency of the LED chip. Moreover, because the probabilities of the non-radiative electron-hole recombination and the total internal reflection are reduced, the temperature of the LED chip may be decreased, thus improving the life and stability of the LED chip.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the tops of the micro-bulges may be processed to be in a uniform crystal plane, thus reducing the invalid electron-hole recombination in the epitaxial layer and improving the internal quantum efficiency of the LED chip accordingly.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the epitaxial layer including the first semiconductor layer, the light emitting layer and the second semiconductor layer is formed on the upper surface of the substrate by epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELOG) or lateral epitaxial pattern substrate (LEPS) process, thus decreasing the crystal structure defects in the epitaxial layer and increasing the internal quantum efficiency of the LED chip.

Additional aspects and advantages of the embodiments of present invention will be given in part in the following descriptions, become apparent in part from the following descriptions, or be learned from the practice of the embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1A is a schematic flow chart of manufacturing a LED chip according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. IB is schematic diagram of the meaning of the roughness average Ra;

Fig. 1C is schematic diagram of the meaning of the peak spacing Rsm;

Fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of manufacturing a LED chip according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 is a structural diagram of a substrate of a LED chip according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 is a structural diagram of a LED chip according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 is a structural diagram of a LED chip according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 6 is a structural diagram of a light emitting diode according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein with reference to drawings are explanatory, illustrative, and used to generally understand the present disclosure. The embodiments shall not be construed to limit the present disclosure.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of semiconductor integrated circuits. It should be understood that the following disclosure provides different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the invention. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In addition, the present disclosure may repeatedly refer to numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself denote a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations under discussion. Moreover, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature described below may include embodiments in which the first and second features are in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed interposing the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact.

Referring to Fig. 1, a method for manufacturing a LED chip, comprising the steps of: a) providing a substrate and forming a rough surface formed with a plurality of micro-bulges on an upper surface thereof; b) forming a first type semiconductor layer, a light emitting layer and a second type semiconductor layer on the upper surface of the substrate successively; c) etching part of the second type semiconductor layer and the light emitting layer successively to form an electrode bonding area on the first type semiconductor layer; and d) forming a first electrode structure on the electrode bonding area and forming a second electrode structure on part of the second type semiconductor layer.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the substrate may be one of a sapphire substrate, a silicon carbide substrate, a silicon substrate, a gallium arsenide substrate, an aluminum nitride substrate, and a gallium nitride substrate. The rough surface comprising a plurality of micro-bulges is formed by grinding the upper surface of the substrate by an abrasive paper or other grinding machines. The micro-bulges are of pyramidal shapes. The micro-bulges may change the light transmission angle, thus reducing the probability of total internal reflection and improving the external quantum efficiency of the LED chip. Moreover, because the probabilities of the non-radiative electron-hole recombination and the total internal reflection are reduced, the temperature of the LED chip may be decreased, thus improving the life and stability of the LED chip.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the rough surface of the substrate is polished to form a uniform crystal plane on the tops of the micro-bulges, that is to say, the tops of the micro-bulges are in a uniform crystal plane after polishing. The uniform crystal plane means that the indices of the crystal planes are identical. The micro-bulges are of pyramidal frustum shapes. After polishing, the rough surface of the substrate may have a roughness average Ra of about 0.05-5 μπι and a peak spacing Rsm of about 0.05-5 μπι. As used herein, referring Figure IB and 1C, the term "roughness average" refers to the arithmetic average value of the departure of the profile from the centre line throughout the sampling length L, while the peak spacing refers to the mean spacing between profile peaks at the centre line, measured within the sampling length L. Because the tops of the micro-bulges are in a uniform crystal plane, the crystal structure defects in the epitaxial layer may be decreased, thus reducing the invalid electron-hole recombination in the epitaxial layer and improving the internal quantum efficiency of the LED chip. Therefore, the temperature of the LED chip may be further decreased. As used herein, the term "epitaxial layer" includes the first type semiconductor layer, the light emitting layer and the second type semiconductor layer.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first type semiconductor layer, the light emitting layer and the second type semiconductor layer are formed successively on the upper surface of the substrate. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first type semiconductor layer, the light emitting layer and the second type semiconductor layer are formed successively on the upper surface of the substrate by epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELOG) or lateral epitaxial pattern substrate (LEPS) process, which may reduce the threading dislocation defects. The amount of defects in the epitaxial layer grown on a uniform crystal plane is less than that of defects in the epitaxial layer grown on different crystal planes, so that the invalid electron-hole recombination is reduced, thus further increasing the internal quantum efficiency and finally increasing the luminous efficiency.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the light emitting layer and the second type semiconductor layer are etched successively to form an electrode bonding area on the first type semiconductor layer.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first electrode structure is formed on the electrode bonding area, and a second electrode structure is formed on the second type semiconductor layer, by evaporation plating or magnetron sputtering. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first type semiconductor may be one of N-type and P-type, and the second type semiconductor may be the other. The semiconductor material may comprise one of III - V group nitride material, such as GaN, InGaN, AlGaN or AlGalnN. The material of the first electrode structure may be the same as or different from that of the second electrode structure. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the materials of the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure may be Ti, Al, Pt, Cr or the like, preferably Au. And in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure may be formed by one metal layer or some metal layers.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, after polishing the rough surface of the substrate, the method further comprises the step of corroding the substrate by using a corrosion solution at a temperature of about 20-400 ° C for about 5-60 minutes. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the corrosion solution mentioned above consists of 98 wt% H 2 S0 4 and 63 wt% H 3 P0 4 with a proportion of about 1 : 1 to about 5: 1. In still another embodiment of the present disclosure, before step d), the method further comprises the step of forming a current diffusing layer on the second type semiconductor layer. In this embodiment of the present disclosure, before the step of forming a current diffusing layer, the method further comprises the step of forming a two-dimensional electron gas diffusing layer on the second semiconductor layer. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further comprises the steps of thinning a lower surface of the substrate by mechanical grinding; providing a base comprising a third electrode structure corresponding to the first electrode structure and a fourth electron structure corresponding to the second electrode structure; inverting the substrate, and coupling the third electrode structure to the first electrode structure and coupling the fourth electron structure to the second electrode structure to form a LED flip chip.

As shown in Fig. 2, the method for manufacturing a light emitting diode (LED) chip comprises the following steps.

Step S 100: A rough surface comprising a plurality of micro-bulges may be formed on an upper surface of a sapphire substrate. The rough surface is formed by mechanical grinding or etching.

And in another embodiment according to the present disclosure, the micro-bulges may be pyramidal, thus further reducing the probability of total internal reflection and improving the external quantum efficiency of the LED chip, according to the principle of the reflection and refraction of light.

Step S200: According to different degrees of roughness, the rough surface of the substrate may be polished to form a uniform crystal plane on the tops of the micro-bulges by adjusting the rotation speed and the pressure of the polisher and controlling the polishing speed and the accuracy, where the uniform crystal plane means the indices of the crystal planes are identical. After polishing, the rough surface of the substrate has a roughness average Ra of about 0.05-5 μπι and a peak spacing Rsm of about 0.05-5 μπι.

Step S210: The substrate may be corroded by using a corrosion solution consisting of 98 wt% H 2 S0 4 and 63 wt% H 3 PO 4 with a proportion of about 1 : 1 to about 5: 1 at a temperature of about 20-400 ° C for about 5-60 minutes, in some embodiment, by using a corrosion solution consisting of 98 wt% H 2 SO 4 and 63 wt% H 3 PO 4 with a proportion of about 3 : 1 at a temperature of about 50 ° C for about 30 minutes. Therefore, the defect region comprising the inherent defect region of the substrate and the damaged layer introduced during mechanical grinding, may be removed by corroding, thus substantially improving the crystal quality of the epitaxial layer, reducing the density of the defects, and further improving the internal quantum efficiency. Furthermore, the reduction of the defect region may decrease the scattering loss of light on the boundary of the substrate and the epitaxial layer, thus further improving the external quantum efficiency.

Step S300: An N-type GaN layer, a light emitting layer and a P-type GaN layer may be formed successively on the upper surface of the substrate by LEPS, where the light emitting layer is a multi-quantum well GaN layer.

Step S400: Part of the P-type GaN layer and the light emitting layer may be vertically etched to form an electrode bonding area on the N-type GaN layer.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise Step S410 after Step S300, in which a current diffusing layer may be formed on the N-type GaN layer. The current diffusing layer is a transparent layer, in some embodiment, an ITO layer. Because of the transverse current characteristics of the P-type semiconductor layer of the LED chip, the introduction of the ITO layer may further improve the uniform distribution of the current in the LED chip, thus increasing the circulation area of the current in the LED chip to improve the luminous efficiency of the LED chip.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a two-dimensional electron gas diffusing layer may be formed between the N-type GaN layer and the current diffusing layer (Step S420), thus further improving the uniform distribution of the current in the LED chip, and the utilization rate of the LED chip.

Step S500: A first electrode structure may be formed on the electrode bonding area and a second electrode structure may be formed on a first region of the P-type GaN layer by evaporation plating or magnetron sputtering, where the first and second electrode structures are each independently a Ti/Al/Ti/Au (5 nm/200 nm/15 nm/100 nm) multi-layer metal film.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, after Step S500, the following steps may be further performed to form a LED flip chip.

Step S600: A lower surface of the sapphire substrate may be thinned by grinding. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the thickness to be grinded may be determined by the thickness of the sapphire substrate, and the lower surface of the sapphire substrate also becomes a rough surface after being grinded, which is beneficial to increase the light extraction efficiency.

In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, a first reflecting layer may be formed on the region of the P-type GaN layer uncovered by the second electrode structure, where the first reflecting layer may be a metal layer, or a reflecting layer with a high reflectivity consisting of a metal layer and a transparent dielectric layer with a low reflectivity. Preferably, the first reflecting layer may be made of silver.

Step S700: A base plate comprising a third electrode structure corresponding to the first electrode structure and a fourth electron structure corresponding to the second electrode structure may be provided, where the base plate may be a rectangular silicon plate. Further, the rectangular silicon plate comprises a second reflecting layer, which increases the light extraction efficiency of the LED chip.

Step S800: The sapphire substrate may be inverted, and the third electrode structure and the fourth electrode structure may be coupled to the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure respectively to form a LED flip chip. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the third electrode structure and the fourth electrode structure may be coupled to the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure by using a conductive adhesive or bonding respectively. The LED flip chip formed according to the third embodiment has high light extraction efficiency and thermal conductivity, thus increasing the life and stability of the LED flip chip.

Referring to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the LED chip may comprise a substrate 1, a first type semiconductor layer 2, an electrode bonding area 22, a light emitting layer 3, a second type semiconductor layer 4, a first electrode structure 8, and a second electrode structure 7. The substrate 1 may comprise a plurality of micro-bulges 12 on an upper surface of the substrate 1. The first type semiconductor layer 2 may be formed on the upper surface of the substrate 1. The electrode bonding area 22 may be formed on a first region of the first type semiconductor layer 2. The light emitting layer 3 may be formed on part of the first type semiconductor layer 2. The second type semiconductor layer 4 may be formed on the light emitting layer 3. The first electrode structure 8 may be formed on the electrode bonding area 22. The second electrode structure 7 may be formed on part of the second type semiconductor layer 4. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of micro-bulges 12 formed on an upper surface of the substrate 1 may make the surface rough, thus reducing the probability of total internal reflection of the LED chip by changing the light transmission angle, and improving the external quantum efficiency of the LED chip. Moreover, because the probabilities of the non-radiative electron-hole recombination and the total internal reflection are reduced, the temperature of the LED chip may be decreased, thus improving the life and stability of the LED chip.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the micro-bulges 12 are with a uniform crystal plane 14. The uniform crystal plane means that the indices of the crystal planes are identical. In some embodiments, the micro-bulges are of pyramidal frustum shapes. The rough surface of the substrate has a roughness average Ra of about 0.05-5 μπι and a peak spacing Rsm of about 0.05-5 μπι. Because the tops of the micro-bulges are in a uniform crystal plane 14, the crystal structure defects in the epitaxial layer may be decreased, thus reducing the invalid electron-hole recombination in the epitaxial layer, and improving the internal quantum efficiency of the LED chip. Therefore, the temperature of the LED chip may be further decreased.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the substrate 1 may be one of a sapphire substrate, a silicon carbide substrate, a silicon substrate, a gallium arsenide substrate, an aluminum nitride substrate, and a gallium nitride substrate. In some embodiments, the substrate is a sapphire substrate.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the material of the first type semiconductor layer may be one of a P-type semiconductor material and a N-type semiconductor material, and the material of the second semiconductor layer may be the other. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the P-type or N-type semiconductor materials may be each independently one of group III-V nitrides, including, but not limited to, gallium nitride (GaN), gallium indium nitride (InGaN), aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN), or aluminum gallium indium nitride (AlGalnN). In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the material of the first type semiconductor layer 2 is an N-type GaN material, and the material of the second type semiconductor layer 4 is a P-type GaN material.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first electrode structure 8 and the second electrode structure 7 may be identical or different, and may be each independently a single-layer structure or a multi-layer structure. The first electrode structure 8 and the second electrode structure 7 may be made of metal, such as gold, titanium, aluminum, platinum, or chrome. In some embodiment of the present disclosure, the materials of the first electrode structure 8 and the second electrode structure 7 are each independently gold. The first electrode structure 8 or the second electrode structure 7 has a thickness of about 0.2-3 μπι.

In some embodiment of the present disclosure, the LED chip further comprises a buffer layer formed between the sapphire substrate 1 and the N-type GaN layer 2. The material for forming the buffer layer is an intrinsic semiconductor. In some embodiment of the present disclosure, the intrinsic semiconductor is intrinsic gallium nitride (GaN) or aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN). In some embodiment of the present disclosure, the N-type GaN layer 2, the light emitting layer 3 and the P-type GaN layer 4 are formed successively on the buffer layer to form an epitaxial layer. The epitaxial layer may be formed via lateral epitaxial overgrowth or lateral epitaxy using a Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) device, which may effectively reduce the dislocation defects, thus reducing the lattice defects and further improving the internal quantum efficiency of the LED chip.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the LED chip may further comprise a current diffusing layer 6 formed between the P-type GaN layer 4 and the second electrode structure 7 and covering the P-type GaN layer 4. The current diffusing layer 6 may be a transparent layer, such as an ITO layer. Because the transverse current in the P-type semiconductor layer of the LED chip may not flow smoothly, the introduction of the ITO layer may further improve the uniform distribution of the current in the LED chip, and increase the circulation area of the current in the LED chip, thus improving the luminous efficiency of the LED chip.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the LED chip may further comprise a two-dimensional electron gas diffusing layer 5 between the P-type GaN layer 4 and the current diffusing layer 6. The two-dimensional electron gas diffusing layer 5 may further improve the uniform distribution of the current in the LED chip, and the utilization rate of the LED chip.

Referring to Fig. 5, a LED flip chip may be provided, which comprises a substrate 1, a first type semiconductor layer 2, an electrode bonding area, a light emitting layer 3, a second type semiconductor layer 4, a first electrode structure 8, a two-dimensional electron gas diffusing layer 5, a current diffusing layer 6, a second electrode structure 7, and a first reflecting layer 9. The substrate 1 may comprise a plurality of micro-bulges 12 with a uniform crystal plane 14 on an upper surface of the substrate 1. The first semiconductor layer 2 may be formed on the upper surface of the substrate 1. The electrode bonding area may be formed on a first region of the first type semiconductor layer 2. The light emitting layer 3 may be formed on a second region of the first type semiconductor layer 2. The second type semiconductor layer 4 may be formed on the light emitting layer 3. The first electrode layer 8 may be formed on the electrode bonding area. The two-dimensional electron gas diffusing layer 5 may be formed on the second type semiconductor layer 4. The current diffusing layer 6 may be formed on the two-dimensional electron gas diffusing layer 5. The second electrode layer 7 may be formed on a first region of the second semiconductor layer 4. The first reflecting layer 9 may be disposed on a second region of the current diffusing layer 6 uncovered by the second electrode structure 7. The lower surface of the substrate 1 may be also a rough surface 13, to further improve the light extraction efficiency. The LED chip may further comprise a base plate 10. The base plate 10 may comprise a rectangular silicon plate 101, a third electrode structure 103 corresponding to the first electrode structure 8; and a fourth electron structure 104 corresponding to the second electrode structure 7. In some embodiment of the present disclosure, a second reflecting layer 102 may be formed adjacent to the rectangular silicon plate 101 to improve the light extraction efficiency of the LED flip chip.

In some embodiment of the present disclosure, the material of the substrate 1 is sapphire. In some embodiment of the present disclosure, the first electrode structure 103 and the second electrode structure 104 are coupled to the first electrode structure 8 and the second electrode structure 7 by using a conductive adhesive or bonding respectively. In some embodiment of the present disclosure, the first reflecting layer 9 may be a metal layer, or a reflecting layer with a high reflectivity consisting of a metal layer and a transparent dielectric layer with a low reflectivity, and the first reflecting layer 9 may be preferably made of metal silver to improve the light extraction efficiency of the LED chip. In some embodiment of the present disclosure, the second reflecting layer 102 may increase not only the light extraction efficiency but also the thermal conductivity of the LED chip. Because the heat generated by the LED chip is dissipated rapidly to the base material 10 via metal, the speed of the thermal conductivity may be increased, thus increasing the stability of the LED chip.

Referring to Fig. 6, the LED according to a sixth embodiment may comprise a base 200, a package body 600 matched with the base 200, a fifth electrode structure 300, a sixth electrode structure 400 with an opposite polarity to the fifth electrode structure 300, and a LED chip 500. Although the LED comprises the LED flip chip as shown in Fig.6, alternatively, the LED may comprise the LED chip mentioned above. The LED flip chip 500 may be disposed between the base 200 and the package body 600, and the fifth electrode structure 300 and the sixth electrode structure 400 are configured to connect the LED flip chip 500 with a power supply. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base 200 may comprise a fixing region 201, where the fifth electrode structure 300 and the sixth electrode structure 400 are disposed on the two sides of the fixing region 201 respectively, and the LED flip chip 500 may be disposed on the fixing region 201. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first electrode structure 8 or the third electrode structure 103 may be connected with the fifth electrode structure 300 via a connection wire 700, such as a gold wire, and the second electrode structure 7 or the fourth electrode structure 104 may be connected with the sixth electrode layer 400 via the gold wire 700. The gold wire 700 is also configured to lead out the third electrode structure 103 and the fourth electrode structure 104 from the package body 600. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the package body 600 may be made of a package resin with a phosphor.

After the LED according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is energized by the fifth electrode structure 300 and the sixth electrode structure 400, the current passes through the light emitting layer 3 to make the light emitting layer 3 emit light, and then the light is emitted from the LED chip 500 by refraction. Because a plurality of micro-bulges are formed on the substrate 1 and the tops of the micro-bulges are in a uniform crystal plane, the internal and external quantum efficiencies of the LED chip may be improved simultaneously, thus increasing the luminance of the LED.

Reference throughout this specification to "an embodiment", "some embodiments", "a preferred embodiment", or "a particularly preferred embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases such as "in some embodiments", "in a preferred embodiment", "in an embodiment" or "in a particularly preferred embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example of the invention. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

Although explanatory embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes, alternatives, and modifications can be made in the embodiments without departing from spirit and principles of the invention. Such changes, alternatives, and modifications all fall into the scope of the claims and their equivalents.