Optimization of the optical structure of thin direct-lit LED backlights for LCD applications by using micro-LEDs

The optimized optical structure of the micro-LED-based direct-lit backlight was investigated through optical simulation. The backlight consisted of only one diffuser plate and an array of micro-LEDs with a reflection film positioned on the bottom of the backlight. An additional reflector was put on top of each micro-LED to prevent the formation of bright spots. Under several number density conditions of the microbeads in the diffuser plate, stable regions were found on the gap-pitch plot, where a high Mura index of ∼1 was secured. The bead density needed to be small (around 104 mm−3) to maintain above 60% transmittance, because the transmittance of the backlight was significantly reduced at higher bead densities. Under the 104 mm−3 bead density condition, the gap can be reduced to 1.5 mm at a 3 mm pitch. The gap can be further reduced if additional optical films, such as a diffuser sheet, a prism film, and a reflective polarizer, will be adopted in the backlight. This work demonstrated that micro-LEDs are ideal light sources for realizing a thin direct-lit backlight for LCD applications.