THERMAL MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS FOR THE LED MARKET

High-brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs) are challenged with thermal management issues due to increased power and reduced surface area. This has led to the need for new materials with higher thermal conductivity that can quickly remove the heat from the active layer. LORD Corporation has developed two new thermal management materials, a “no pump-out” thermal grease and a low modulus die attach adhesive, as solutions to the heat dissipation problems facing LED manufacturers. These innovative technologies will help engineers solve complex fundamental thermal management problems. A new 4 W/mK silicone thermal grease has been developed with significant resistance to in-package bleed-out or pump-out eliminating the reliability problem most commonly encountered with traditional thermal greases. A new 10–20 W/mK thermal epoxy adhesive has also been developed creating a new class of flexible adhesives with high adhesion. This combination allows the new LORD die attach adhesive to not only effectively transfer heat out of the package, but also to dissipate the stress caused by thermal expansion and contraction during thermal cycling thereby affording improved package reliability.