The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 19, 2000
Filed:
Apr. 15, 1998
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Kanagawa-ken, JP;
Abstract
A current blocking layer (7) formed immediately below a transparent electrode (9) is formed of a semiconductor layer containing Al, and a bandgap equal to or longer than the emission wavelength. Since the current blocking layer (7) is formed of such semiconductor layer, an oxide film forms on or near the surface of the current blocking layer (7) in a process of forming the transparent electrode (9) such as an ITO film containing oxygen, and the current blocking layer functions effectively. The diameter of a bonding electrode (20) is set to be smaller than that of the current blocking layer (7), thus effectively outputting the light emitted. Furthermore, the oxidized current blocking layer can have a high breakdown voltage and, hence, can be formed to have a small thickness, thus improving step coverage upon forming the transparent electrode on the current blocking layer. By inserting a thin Zn layer (8) between the transparent electrode (9) and an ohmic layer (6), the adhesion therebetween can be improved.