<2013 Edition> LED Lighting Key Patent Analysis : COB (Chip-on-Board) LED Feb. 2013
<2013 Edition> LED Lighting Key Patent Analysis : COB (Chip-on-Board) LED Feb, 2013 SNE Research Co., Ltd. 9F 911, S Block, H-Square, Pankyo Techno valley, Sampyeong-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea, 463-400 Phone: (82) 31-704-7142, Fax: (82) 31-704-7145 e-mail: ryan@sneresearch.com 2
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<2013 Edition> LED 핵심특허분석 : COB LED Table of Contents 1. Introduction Patent Analysis Background --------------------------- 7 Pa t en t Ana l ys i s M e tho d ------------------------ 9 Patent Analysis Scope and Classification ------- 10 2. Overview COB LED Overview -------------------- 13 COB LED Development Trend ------------------- 15 3. Patent Application Trend Analysis Patent Search Results and Selection of Validated Patents -- 17 Patent Application Trend By Country / Year ----------- 18 Patent Application Trend Applicant Trend by Year ------ 19 Patent Application Trend Major Company Trend by Country ------------------- 21 Patent Application Trend Trend of Top 10 ----------- 22 4. COB Key Patent Analysis Overview Key Patent Selection Method ------------------------ 27 Key Patent Selection Results ------------------------ 28 Key Patent Share by Company --------------------- 29 List of Key Patents by Company -------------------- 30 List of Key Patents by Country --------------------------- 40 Key Patent In-depth Analysis ------------------------ 53 5. COB Chip Mounting Key Patent Analysis Key Patent Status ------------------------------------- 55 Key Patent Flowchart ------------------- 56 Key Patent Analysis ----------------------------------- 57 6. Encapsulation Key Patent Analysis Key Patent Status ----------------------------------- 69 Patent Application Trend By / Year ------ 23 Patent Application Trend By / Applicant ----- 24 Key Patent Flowchart ------------------- 70 Key Patent Analysis ------------------------------------ 71 Patent Application Trend By / Country ------- 25.
<2013 Edition> LED 핵심특허분석 : COB LED Table of Contents 7. Multi-Chip Key Patent Analysis Key Patent Status -----------------------------------------82 Key Patent Flowchart ------------------------83 Key Patent Analysis --------------------------------------84 8. PCB Key Patent Analysis Key Patent Status -----------------------------------------94 Key Patent Flowchart ------------------------95 Key Patent Analysis --------------------------------------96 9. Luminous Efficiency Enhancement Key Patent Analysis Key Patent Status -----------------------------------------105 Key Patent Flowchart ----------------------107 Key Patent Analysis ---------------------------------------109 10. Heat Dissipation Key Patent Analysis Key Patent Status ---------------------------------------137 Key Patent Flowchart --------------------138 Key Patent Analysis -----------------------------------139 11. Leading Company Key Patent In-depth Analysis CREE Key Patent Analysis -------------------- 149 BRIDGELUX Key Patent Analysis ------------- 151 SAMSUNG Key Patent Analysis --------------- 153 12. Conclusion / Implication COB LED Patent Trend -----------------------------------156 Major Company Key Trend ------------------157 Patent Technologies in Issue ----------------------------158 Implications ---------------------------------------------160 Appendix : Chip-on-Board LED Key Patent Summary.
Patent Analysis Method The report is composed in the order of Patent Search, Valid Patent Extraction, Patent Application Trend Analysis, Key Patent Selection & Summary Analysis, Key Patent In-depth Analysis and Conclusion / Implication. Patent Search / Valid Patent Extraction Search Period : ~ December 2012 Search Country : KR, JP, US, EP, PCT * Search DB : KIWEE, KIPRIS, FOCUST Patent Application Trend Analysis Patent application status by technology/country/year. Trend of TOP 10 player Major player trend by country Key Patent Selection / Summary Analysis Understand key patent selection/summary. List summary of key patent PCT : Patent Cooperation Treaty Key patent analysis of 6 technologies Key : chip mounting, multi-chip arrangement, heat dissipation, luminous efficiency, PCB, encapsulation technology Key Patent Analysis by COB Key Patent Analysis of Leading Company Key patent analysis of Leading Company Major companies : CREE, Bridgelux, SAMSUNG Patent Trend Analysis Conclusion / Implication Patent trend analysis results Conclusion / Implication Expected Effects - Understand technology/market trend - Discover research theme/ Establish development strategy - Submit patent application/ Establish patent strategy/ Prevent patent dispute - Create business opportunities, etc. 9
Patent Analysis Scope and Classification In this report patents on Chip-on-Board LED has been examined and analyzed as follows. Patent Search Period : PCT patents and patents registered and disclosed in Korea, US, Japan, and Europe until 2012. 12. 31 Patent Search Scope : Selected by keyword extraction from patent titles, summaries, technology classification and patent content on country to country basis. To avoid omission separate search has been conducted for major patent applicants and major keywords. Classification Searched Chip Mounting Chip-on-Board LED Luminous Efficiency Enhancement 10
Classification Searched Heat Dissipation PCB Chip-on-Board LED Encapsulation Multi Chip Arrangement 11
2. Overview COB LED Overview COB LED Development Trend 12
COB LED Overview For COB LED, multi LED chips are packaged together as single lighting module and as light emission is intensive it has an advantage to be produced as a high power lighting that is small in size. By applying COB LED technology the volume and weight can be reduced significantly and as thermal resistance can also be reduced the cost of LED lighting can dramatically be cut down. [Fig.1 Comparison of COB LED and Regular LED, Basic Engine Structure of COB LED] - Conduction - Convection - Radiation (Source : Resources from Academia and Industry) 13
As the size of COB LED is small it has excellent design flexibility. In addition as it uses only one optical system instead of several, superior light distribution pattern can be achieved. (Refer to Fig 2) [Fig.2 Light Distribution Comparison of COB LED Product and Normal LED Product] [COB LED] [Normal LED] (Source : Industry Data) The COB LED can be made into small size due to the advantage of excellent light distribution characteristic and can be applied in various lighting applications as MR, downlight, bulb, security light, streetlight, tunnel light, factory light and park light. 14
COB LED Development Trend The technology development of COB LED was lead by Nichia in the beginning but as Nichia is now doing business with Citizen the roles are allocated and Nichia is no more participating in the packaging business. Citizen has recently made a plan to mass produce 2,700K, Ra80, 20W LED with luminous efficiency 130lm/W and BridgeLux has recently finished the preparation to mass produce 5,000K, Ra70, 83W LED of luminous efficiency 143lm/W from march 2013. In the COB LED market having power consumption above 30W the two companies have the reputation for having the best level of competitiveness. In Korea, Seoul Semiconductor has the most advanced technology as it recently self developed a COB LED of 5,000K, Ra70, 40W with luminous efficiency 125~130lm/W which is scheduled to be mass produced. The Korea Polytechnic University is developing a COB LED in cooperation with other industry organizations and targeting a price of 3$ for 1,000lm COB LED by year 2015. Cree is also devoting on COB LED by developing a module with chip efficiency 180lm/W and Luminus, an affiliate of Philips has strength in surface illuminant COB LED module which is based on flip chip. This COB is close to surface illuminant as the interior surface of this COB has significantly large light emitting area compared to area which does not. As surface illuminant is very important in improving the quality of light it is expected to become competitive in the future. COB LED is produced in different ways depending on electrical and optical properties including color temperature, color rendering, rated voltage, current consumption, chip size, chip array, size of light emitting area and circuit design. And thus, it is necessary to develop COB LED lighting products which has strength in key components and design structure. 15
3. Patent Application Trend Analysis Patent Search Results and Selection of Validated Patents Patent Application Trend By Country / Year Patent Application Trend Applicant Trend by Year Patent Application Trend Major Company Trend by Country Patent Application Trend Trend of Top 10 Patent Application Trend By / Year Patent Application Trend By / Applicant Patent Application Trend By / Country 16
Patent Search Results and Selection of Validated Patents At the initial stage of patent analysis, among 13,738 of raw patent data which was obtained by repeating search for 6 rounds and target searching each patent applicant company, 735 validated patents on Chip-on-Board LED were selected by removing duplicate patents and patents of other technology areas (noise). The 735 validated patents are classified into chip mounting technology, encapsulation technology, multi-chip array technology, PCB technology, luminous efficiency technology and heat dissipation technology. The details of valid patents are given in the table below. [Extraction of Valid Patents on Chip On Board LED] Country US EP JP KR PCT Total Search Results Valid Patents Chip On Board LED 13,738 735 Chip Mounting Encapsulation Classification Multi-chip Array PCB Luminous Efficiency Heat Dissipation Total 17
Patent Application Trend By Country / Year The patent trend of Chip-on-Board LED has been analyzed by year and country. (Total of 735 validated patents). The number of patent application increased from mid-2000s until recently and the share of patents is similar in size for US, Japan and Korea but not Europe. It should be noted that due to the nature of patent system where a patent is published after a year and a half after application, there exist unpublished patents from 2011 and as a result the number of patent application shows as a downward trend. Number of application 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 Invalid Period YEAR US EP JP KR PCT 20 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year of application 18
Patent Application Trend Applicant Trend by Year The following table below shows the number of patent applications regarding Chip-on-Board LED for each year. The Chip-on-Board LED patent applications were filed from 32 research institutes and companies of US, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. (Individual patents excluded.) Japan company, Citizen is showing the most aggressive patent application activity and Korean companies including Samsung and US company,cree is also showing active activity. CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. Samsung LED Co., Ltd LG INNOTEK CO., LTD Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. CREE, INC. SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS CO., LTD. Nichia Corporation BRIDGELUX, INC. ALTI-ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. Toshiba lighting Co.,Ltd MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD ADVANCED OPTOELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY INC EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. K.M.W. INC. 19
HARVATEK CORPORATION LUSTROUS INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY LTD. OSRAM sharp Co., Ltd. Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. DS CO., LTD JooKyeong Co., Ltd. TOYOTA FOXSEMICON INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY, INC. INTEMATIX CORPORATION Lumination LLC LUMI-MAX SHINYETSU Korea Photonics Institute Asahi Glass Company, Limited LG display CO., LTD LG Electronics Inc. SAMSUNG MOBILE DISPLAY CO., LTD. 20
Patent Application Trend Major Company Trend by Country The major applicants of Chip-on-Board LED is examined by country and is shown in the following. SAMSUNG, CREE, CITIZEN, and BRIDGELUX shows active patent application activities. In US, SAMSUNG, CREE and BRIDGELUX are the major patent applicants. US EP Samsung CREE, INC. BRIDGELUX, INC. EVERLIGHT Seoul Semiconductor Samsung PANASONIC LG ALTI-ELECTRONICS 0 10 20 30 40 50 JP KR CITIZEN ELECTRONICS Samsung Nichia Corporation LG CREE, INC. LG Samsung Seoul Semiconductor ALTI-ELECTRONICS 0 50 100 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 CREE, INC. 0 10 20 30 40 50 21
Patent Application Trend By / Applicant The patent applicant trends of Chip-on-Board LED technology of each 6 major technologies is as follows. Among 6 technologies Citizen (JP) holds dominant position for multi-chip array technology, CREE (US) for encapsulation and luminous efficiency technology and Samsung (KR) for heat dissipation and PCB technology. Bridgelux (US) is active in chip mounting technology and LG (KR) and Seoul Semiconductor shows even patent application distribution for each technology in general. Chip Mounting Encapsulation Multi-chip Array PCB Luminous Efficiency Enhancement Heat Dissipation 24
Key Patent Selection Method 140 number of key patents were selected among 735 validated patents related to Chip-on-Board LED by comprehensively reviewing the patent index. Key Patent Selection Method Patent Index Scalability : Foreign Patent Application - Family Patent* Citation : Forward, Backward Patent Rights (Legal Status) : Registration, Pending, Invalid, Expiry Conformance : Conformance Prior Application : Application Date, Priority Date Period of Rights Number of Independent/Dependent Claims : Number of Implementation *Family Patent : A set of patent taken in various countries to protect a single invention, by a common inventor Patent Index : Objective index to determine the importance of patent by foreign patent application, patent citation and others. Key Patent Analysis Procedure Order Of Priority Selected by order of priority of patent index. Total of 140 Key Patents Key Patent Selection Patent Index Review Key Patent Selection Key Patent Analysis Key Patent Summary Analysis - Novelty, Progressivity, Effectiveness, etc. Citation Analysis Key Patent In-depth Analysis Analysis on Patent in Issue Development Issue Analysis 27
Key Patent Selection Results 140 selected key patents are shown in the following table. As a second stage, 74 patents with high overseas patent application (family) rate were selected in order of recently filed US patents. The selected 74 US patents are analyzed indepth by each 6 technology. [Key Patents of Chip-on-Board LED] Country KR US JP EP PCT Total Chip-on-Board LED Multi-chip PCB Chip Mounting Encapsulation Array Luminous Efficiency Enhancement Heat Dissipation Total 28
List of Key Patents by Company CREE (US) : 19 Patents NO. Application Number Application Date Title Patent(B1) or Published(A1) Number Solution 1 JP102009000547219 20071120 Wafer level phosphor coating method and devices fabricated utilizing method JP2010000517290A 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Patent Family 30
List of Key Patents by Company Korea : 7 Patents NO. Application Number Application Date Assignee 1 KR102004000107782 20041217 LG INNOTEK CO., LTD 2 3 4 5 6 7 Europe : 3 Patents NO. 1 2 3 Application Number Application Date Assignee Title Package for light emitting device with metal base to conduct heat Title Patent(B1) or Published(A1) Number KR10000646093B1 Patent(B1) or Published(A1) Number Solution PCB layer structure Solution Patent Family 16 Patent Family 40
Key Patent In-depth Analysis The key patent in-depth analysis was conducted on 74 US patents with analysis on key patent status, key patent trend, technology flow chart and other basic patent information. The report contains analysis results of patent application trend (summarization), key technology trend of major companies, examples of patent in issue and implication. And as an appendix, patent summary of 140 key patents (KR, US, JP, EP, PCT) is supplemented. Key Patent Status and Trend Analysis US Patent Status : 74 Patents Trend by technology /year, issue by applicant Chip Mounting Encapsulation Development Trend Analysis development by technology area / year (patent application number/applicant/technology in issue/blueprint) Key Patents for In-depth analysis Conclusion / Implication Examples of patent in issue Implication Chip-on-Board LED Multi-chip array PCB Luminous Efficiency Enhancement Heat Dissipation Total 53
Chip Mounting - Key Patent Flowchart 2003~2005 2006 US100000*******5 ROHM Co. Ltd. anisotropic conductive resin composite US100000********4 SAMSUNG ELECTRO- MECHANICS US100000*******0 BRIDGELUX, INC. wire connection method alternation US10000011********0 CREE, INC. 2007 2009 2010 US10000*******8 flip chip Panasonic US100000*******3 Stanley a first conductor pattern and a second conductor pattern on an insulating board US100**********8 OSRAM US100000*******7 BRIDGELUX, INC. metal trace US1000********4 AlbEO Technologies 2011~2012 US100000********0 BRIDGELUX, INC. flip chip US100000********* BRIDGELUX, INC. slimming, miniaturizing a top surface and a plurality of edges slimming, miniaturizing Conductive epoxy is applied to at least one of the LED chip and the conductor a photon building block 56
Chip Mounting - Key Patent Analysis Chip Mounting 57
11. Leading Company Key Patent In-depth Analysis CREE Key Patent Analysis - CREE Issue and Patent Portfolio - Key Patent In-depth Analysis BRIDGELUX Key Patent Analysis - BRIDGELUX Issue and Patent Portfolio - Key Patent In-depth Analysis SAMSUNG Key Patent Analysis - SAMSUNG Issue and Patent Portfolio - Key Patent In-depth Analysis 148
CREE Key Patent Analysis Issue and Patent Portfolio The technology of CREE s key patent has been examined. In the recent 2~3 years CREE has focused on key patent application regarding Chip-on-Board LED and in particular is strong in luminous efficiency enhancement technology as it has minimized optical loss by arranging single (or multiple) LED chip array on flat substrate with single overmolded lens and maximized optical power by adjusting the optical beam shape. Assignee CREE Key Patent US100000110595720 Chip Mounting Encapsulation Multi-chip Array Luminous Efficiency Enhancement Issue a top surface and a plurality of edges Solution Heat Dissipation 149
CREE Key Patent In-depth Analysis 07821023 Patent TITLE : Solid state lighting component(us 07821023) An LED component comprising an array of LED chips mounted on a planar surface of a submount with the LED chips capable of emitting light in response to an electrical signal. The LED chips comprise respective groups emitting at different colors of light, with each of the groups interconnected in a series circuit. A lens is included over the LED chips. Other embodiments can comprise thermal spreading structures included integral to the submount and arranged to dissipate heat from the LED chips. Continuing patent application of Continuation (CA), Continuation-In-Parts (CIP) and Divisional (DA) were filed to make improvement for this patent showing the technical genealogy and is considered as a key technology of CREE which implements various technologies such as luminous efficiency enhancement and multi-chip array. [Technical Genealogy] [Various Chip Array Configurations] 150
12. Conclusion / Implication COB LED Patent Trend Major Company Key Trend Patent Technologies in Issue Implications 155
Major Company Key Trend Chip-on-Board LED patents were filed by companies form Korea, US, Japan, Taiwan and Germany. The top patent applicant CREE has focused on patent application in the recent 3~4 years and Samsung is steadily filing for patent application until recently. Companies including BRIDGELUX, Seoul Semiconductor, Nichia, CITIZEN and OSRAM are also showing aggressive activity. The key technology of previously mentioned companies are as follows. Assignee ~2006 2008 2010 2012 CREE SAMSUNG BRIDGELUX Seoul Semiconductor Nichia encapsulant structure : matrix CITIZEN OSRAM 157
Patent Technologies in Issue In order to enhance high power, thermal efficiency and luminous efficiency and obtain slim/miniaturized design, life stability, reliability and improvement of production process and assembling technology, various technology development of Chip-on- Board LED is being attempted. BRIDGELUX(US) US2006-****** (2006-08-11) Technical Issue CREE(US) US2006-****** (2006-01-20) Panasonic(JP) US2004-****** (2004-07-22) Structure contact connecting vertical conductor instead of wire bonding (BRIDGELUX) Double structure with first reflective encapsulant material and adjacent second encapsulant material. (CREE) Luminous efficiency enhancement technology using array of blue LED and red LED chips (flip chip). (Panasonic) 158
Implication In recent LED lighting market where the LED price is dropping, various technology development is being attempted as solutions for improving high power, thermal efficiency and luminous efficiency are becoming more important than ever. Among many technologies COB LED is receiving much attention from many companies as it can deliver low cost LED having strength in power, slimming/miniaturizing, efficiency enhancement, lifespan, stability and reliability. The leading companies of US and Japan filed for COB LED patent application from mid-2000s. And in recent years, global manufacturers including CREE, Citizen, Bridgelux and Osram are continuously releasing results of technology development. As shown in the report most of the key patents are from small group of leading companies and from specific countries. The analysis of Chip-on-Board LED key patent examined by each company also shows the leading companies to share most of the key patents. In general a patent is open to the public after year and a half from the time of filing. And so, it is important to check the patent status in a regular basis as new technologies developed by leading companies that have been filed for application are not yet opened to the public. As COB LED is an area where patent dispute is expected, it is suggested for companies to carefully analyze the key patents of major companies and prepare defense patents, obtain invalid patent information and develop ways to design around patents. 160
Appendix Chip-on-Board LED Key Patent Summary - Patents which were excluded in the analysis (140-74=66 Patents) 161
` luminous efficiency enhancement ` 198