Woven mesh substrate with semiconductor elements, and method and device for manufacturing the same

A woven mesh substrate with semiconductor elements, to which a plurality of spherical semiconductor elements having a light-receiving function or a light-emitting function are installed, comprising:

• a woven mesh substrate in net form, woven from a plurality of vertical strands that are insulating and a plurality of horizontal strands that are electrically conductive, and having meshes arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns;
• and
• a plurality of spherical semiconductor elements each of which has a light-receiving function or a light-emitting function and a first and a second electrode, and installed to a plurality of the meshes of said woven mesh substrate in a state in which their conductive directions as specified by said first and second electrodes are lined up in the vertical direction parallel to the vertical strands;
• and in that:
• said plurality of spherical semiconductor elements are grouped into a plurality of groups, taking row direction element groups comprising a plurality of spherical semiconductor elements lined up along the horizontal direction as units;
• said plurality of row direction element groups are arranged in said plurality of rows, with conductive connection members comprising one or a plurality of horizontal strands being disposed between adjacent row direction element groups;
• the plurality of spherical semiconductor elements of each row direction element group are electrically connected in parallel via a pair of said conductive connection members;
• and
• said plurality of row direction element groups are connected in series via a plurality of said conductive connection members.

A device for manufacturing a woven mesh substrate with semiconductor elements in which a plurality of spherical semiconductor elements having a light-receiving function or a light-emitting function, and each having a first and a second electrode, are installed to a woven mesh substrate in net form that is woven from a plurality of vertical strands that are insulating and a plurality of horizontal strands that are electrically conductive, comprising:

• a supply side guide roller that guides a plurality of vertical strands supplied from a vertical strand supply source;
• a heddle mechanism that shifts a first group of vertical strands including a plurality of vertical strands arranged mutually parallel with fixed gaps between them, and a second group of vertical strands including a plurality of vertical strands positioned parallel to the first group of vertical strands and alternatingly therewith, and creates a gap between the first and second groups of vertical strands;
• a shuttle mechanism that supplies a horizontal strand through the gap created by said peddle mechanism between said first and second groups of vertical strands;
• a reed mechanism that pushes the horizontal strand that has been supplied by said shuttle mechanism;
• an application mechanism that applies conductive j unction blobs at a plurality of sites on said horizontal strand corresponding to all or a part of the net meshes;
• and
• a semiconductor element supply mechanism that installs a plurality of spherical semiconductor elements to correspond to all or a portion of the plurality of sites at which said conductive junction blobs have been applied, and that thus connects the plurality of first electrodes or of second electrodes to the horizontal strand.