Micro-size LED and detector arrays for minidisplay, hyper-bright light emitting diodes, lighting, and UV detector and imaging sensor applications

Abstract

A micro-size LED-like optical element has an n-contact, a p-contact, and an optical active structure connected between the n-contact and the p-contact for generating light when forward biased and for detecting light when reverse biased. The optical active structure has a diameter of about 20 μm or smaller. When the the optical active structure is forward biased, it forms a micro-size LED (μLED). When the optical active structure is reverse biased, it forms a micro-size detector (μdetector). An array of the micro-size optical active structures may be used as a minidisplay, a detector, or a sensor (when each structure is separately wired), or as a hyperbright LED (when the structures are wired to turn on and off simultaneously). Alternatively, a hyperbright LED may be obtained by forming a plurality of micro-size holes extending into an LED wafer.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.