Confocal microscopy as a tool for the study of the emission characteristics of high-power LEDs

We report on an experimental set-up based on a confocal principle in order to acquire the light-intensity distribution (XZ and XY optical sections) of high-power LEDs. To be able to record the emission characteristics of millimeter-sized LEDs and to carry out the measurements with high precision the set-up consists of a moving stage and stationary rather than scanning optics, along with a lock-in amplifier in combination with a photodiode as a detection unit. The optical sections recorded provide valuable information on the light-intensity distribution and the light propagation both within transparent substrates (in case of flip-chip LEDs) as well as in the ambient of the LEDs. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the measurement technique, the impact of the numerical aperture of the objective lens on the shape of the optical sections recorded was tested for a set of different objective lenses. The method reported provides new opportunities for a direct determination not only of the amount but also the directionality of the light extraction from LEDs that are processed in order to improve the light-extraction efficiency.