Impact of thermal interface material on luminous flux curve of InGaAlP low-power light-emitting diodes

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muna E. Raypah ◽  
Mutharasu Devarajan ◽  
Shahrom Mahmud

Purpose One major problem in the lighting industry is the thermal management of the devices. Handling of thermal resistance from solder point to the ambiance of the light-emitting diode (LED) package is linked to the external thermal management that includes a selection of the cooling mode, design of heatsink/substrate and thermal interface material (TIM). Among the significant factors that increase the light output of the of the LED system are efficient substrate and TIM. In this work, the influence of TIM on the luminous flux performance of commercial indium gallium aluminium phosphide (InGaAlP) low-power (LP) LEDs was investigated. Design/methodology/approach One batch of LEDs was mounted directly onto substrates which were glass-reinforced epoxy (FR4) and aluminium-based metal-core printed circuit boards (MCPCBs) with a dielectric layer of different thermal conductivities. Another batch of LEDs was prepared in a similar way, but a layer of TIM was embedded between the LED package and substrate. The TIMs were thermally conductive epoxy (TCE) and thermally conductive adhesive (TCA). The LED parameters were measured by using the integrated system of thermal transient tester (T3Ster) and thermal-radiometric characterization of LEDs at various input currents. Findings With the employment of TIM, the authors found that the LED’s maximum luminous flux was significantly higher than the value mentioned in the LED datasheet, and that a significant reduction in thermal resistance and junction temperature was revealed. The results showed that for a system with low thermal resistance, the maximum luminous flux appeared to occur at a higher power level. It was found that the maximum luminous flux was 24.10, 28.40 and 36.00 lm for the LEDs mounted on the FR4 and two MCPCBs, respectively. After TCA application on the LEDs, the maximum luminous flux values were 32.70, 36.60 and 37.60 lm for the FR4 and MCPCBs, respectively. Moreover, the findings demonstrated that the performance of the LED mounted on the FR4 substrate was more affected by the employment of the TIM than that of MCPCBs. Research limitations/implications One of the major problems in the lighting industry is the thermal management of the device. In many low-power LED applications, the air gap between the two solder pads is not filled up. Heat flow is restricted by the air gap leading to thermal build-up and higher thermal resistance resulting in lower maximum luminous flux. Among the significant factors that increase the light output of the LED system are efficient substrate and TIM. Practical implications The findings in this work can be used as a method to improve thermal management of LP LEDs by applying thermal interface materials that can offer more efficient and brighter LP LEDs. Using aluminium-based substrates can also offer similar benefits. Social implications Users of LP LEDs can benefit from the findings in this work. Brighter automotive lighting (signalling and backlighting) can be achieved, and better automotive lighting can offer better safety for the people on the street, especially during raining and foggy weather. User can also use a lower LED power rating to achieve similar brightness level with LED with higher power rating. Originality/value Better thermal management of commercial LP LEDs was achieved with the employment of thermal interface materials resulting in lower thermal resistance, lower junction temperature and brighter LEDs.

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muna E. Raypah ◽  
Dheepan M.K. ◽  
Mutharasu Devarajan ◽  
Shanmugan Subramani ◽  
Fauziah Sulaiman

Purpose Thermal behavior of light-emitting diode (LED) device under different operating conditions must be known to enhance its reliability and efficiency in various applications. The purpose of this study is to report the influence of input current and ambient temperature on thermal resistance of InGaAlP low-power surface-mount device (SMD) LED. Design/methodology/approach Thermal parameters of the LED were measured using thermal transient measurement via Thermal Transient Tester (T3Ster). The experimental results were validated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. Findings As input current increases from 50 to 90 mA at 25°C, the relative increase in LED package (ΔRthJS) and total thermal resistance (ΔRthJA) is about 10 and 4 per cent, respectively. In addition, at 50 mA and ambient temperature from 25 to 65°C, the ΔRthJS and ΔRthJA are roughly 28 and 22 per cent, respectively. A good agreement between simulation and experiment results of junction temperature. Originality/value Most of previous studies have focused on thermal management of high-power LEDs. There were no studies on thermal analysis of low-power SMD LED so far. This work will help in predicting the thermal performance of low-power LEDs in solid-state lighting applications.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muna E. Raypah ◽  
Mutharasu Devarajan ◽  
Fauziah Sulaiman

Purpose Thermal management of high-power (HP) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is an essential issue. Junction temperature (TJ) and thermal resistance (Rth) are critical parameters in evaluating LEDs thermal management and reliability. The purpose of this paper is to study thermal and optical characteristics of ThinGaN (UX:3) white LED mounted on SinkPAD by three types of solder paste (SP): No-Clean SAC305 (SP1), Water-Washable SAC305 (SP2) and No-Clean Sn42/Bi57.6/Ag0.4 (SP3). Design/methodology/approach Thermal transient tester (T3Ster) machine is used to determine TJ and total thermal resistance (Rth–JA). In addition, the LED’s optical properties are measured via thermal and radiometric characterization of power LEDs (TeraLED) system. The LED is mounted on SinkPAD using SP1, SP2 and SP3 by stencil printing to control a thickness of SP and reflow soldering oven to minimize the number of voids. The LED with SP1, SP2 and SP3 is tested at various input currents and ambient temperatures. Findings The results indicate that at high input current, which equals to 1,200 mA, Rth–JA and TJ, respectively, are reduced by 30 and 17 per cent between SP1 and SP2. At same current value, Rth–JA and TJ are minimized by 42 and 25 per cent between SP1 and SP3, respectively. In addition, at an ambient temperature of 85°C, Rth–JA and TJ are decreased by 34 and 7 per cent between SP1 and SP2, respectively. Similarly, the reduction in Rth–JA and TJ between SP1 and SP3 is 44 and 10 per cent, respectively. Luminous flux, luminous efficacy and color shift of the LED with the three types of SPs are compared and discussed. It is found that the SP1 improves the chromatic properties of the LED by increasing the overall light efficiency and decreasing the color shift. Originality/value Thermal and optical performance of ThinGaN LEDs mounted on SinkPAD via three types of SPs is compared. This investigation can assist the research on thermal management of HP ThinGaN-based LEDs.


Circuit World ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-20
Author(s):  
Piotr Sobik ◽  
Radoslaw Pawlowski ◽  
Bartlomiej Pawlowski ◽  
Boguslaw Drabczyk ◽  
Kazimierz Drabczyk

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present results of the studies on modification of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulation foil to be used as thermal interface material (TIM). It is estimated that poor thermal management in electronic devices can cause over 50 per cent of failures. As the junction temperature rises, the failure rate for electronics increases exponentially. To ensure sufficient heat transfer from its source, TIMs are used in various circuits. On the other hand, it is important to ensure high electric resistivity of the designed TIM. Design/methodology/approach The focus of the investigation was twofold: modification of EVA with both graphene oxide (GO) and silver nanopowder (nAg); and TIM applicability through lamination of photovoltaic cells with standard and modified EVA foil. The main problem of a new type of encapsulant is proper gas evacuation during the lamination process. For this reason, reference and modified samples were compared taking into account the percentage of gas bubbles in visible volume of laminated TIM. Finally, reference and modified TIM samples were compared using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and laser flash analysis (LFA) measurements. Findings The proper parameters of the lamination process for the modified EVA foil - with both GO and organometallic nAg particles - were selected. The nAg addition results in an increase in thermal conductivity of the proposed compositions with respect to unmodified EVA foil, which was confirmed by DSC and LFA measurements. Originality/value The experiments confirmed the potential application of both EVA foil as a matrix for TIM material and nAg with GO as an active agent. Proposed composition can bring additional support to a solar cell or other electronic components through effective heat removal, which increases its performance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (39) ◽  
pp. 10611-10617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liuying Zhao ◽  
Huiqiang Liu ◽  
Xuechen Chen ◽  
Sheng Chu ◽  
Han Liu ◽  
...  

Thermal interface material (TIMs) pads/sheets with both high elasticity and low thermal resistance are indispensable components for thermal management.


Author(s):  
T. Cader ◽  
B. Tolman ◽  
C. Tilton ◽  
M. C. Harris

Semiconductor logic burn-in is a process during which potentially large quantities of devices are subjected to elevated temperatures and voltages in order to accelerate latent reliability defects and processing problems to failure prior to customer delivery. During burn-in, there is typically a large variation in the device power levels as well as a product-specific maximum burn-in temperature. Such variations result in a wide device temperature distribution (i.e., device temperature spread), which lowers the median allowable device temperature for the lot. Burn-in time is directly related to the median device temperature, in the sense that the lower the median temperature, the longer the required burn-in time. An optimum thermal management solution is one that is reliable, low-cost, enables a high median device temperature, and maximizes device throughput. Current thermal solutions include forced convection air-cooling, single-phase liquid-cooled heat sinks, and thermoelectric coolers. Some of the solutions employ thermal interface materials, as well as an active thermal control scheme for minimization of device temperature spread. All current solutions also employ an engage mechanism that places the thermal solution in contact with the device under test (DUT). The thermal solution at each DUT is typically gimbaled in an effort to ensure uniform contact pressure between the cooling head and device. The present study deals with the application of direct spray cooling of semiconductor devices undergoing burn-in: this approach negates the need for an actuation mechanism and thermal interface material, is capable of reduced junction temperature spread via active thermal control, and results in reduced across device temperature “gradients”. A spray cooled burn-in slot level prototype was built to accommodate single burn-in boards for bare DUTs as well as small and large lidded DUTs. The solution was investigated primarily for thermal capability and device-to-device junction temperature spread, but results were also obtained for on-DUT thermal “gradients”. For the specific test conditions selected, the heat flux removal capability demonstrated was 146W/cm2 for the bare DUT, 136W/cm2 for the small lidded DUT, and 63W/cm2 for the large lidded DUT. For each DUT investigated, and through the use of active flow control, the device temperature spread between two devices running at a 50% difference in power levels was shown to be less than 1°C.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Qiang Lim ◽  
Mutharasu Devarajan ◽  
Shanmugan Subramani

Purpose This paper aims to study the influence of the Cu-Al2O3 film-coated Cu substrate as a thermal interface material (TIM) on the thermal and optical behaviour of the light-emitting diode (LED) package and the annealing effect on the thermal and optical properties of the films. Design/methodology/approach A layer-stacking technique has been used to deposit the Cu-Al2O3 films by means of magnetron sputtering, and the annealing process was conducted on the synthesized films. Findings In this paper, it was found that the un-annealed Cu-Al2O3–coated Cu substrate exhibited low value of thermal resistance compared to the bare Cu substrate and to the results of previous works. Also the annealing effect does not have a significant impact on the changes of properties of the films. Research limitations/implications It is deduced that the increase of the Cu layer thickness can further improve the thermal properties of the deposited film, which can reduce the thermal resistance of the package in system-level analysis. Practical implications The paper suggested that the Cu-Al2O3–coated Cu substrate can be used as alternative TIM for the thermal management of the application of LEDs. Originality value In this paper, the Cu substrate has been used as the substrate for the Cu-Al2O3 films, as the Cu substrate has higher thermal conductivity compared to the Al substrate as shown in previous work.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 95-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Idan Levy ◽  
Eyal Merary Wormser ◽  
Maxim Varenik ◽  
Matat Buzaglo ◽  
Roey Nadiv ◽  
...  

The substantial heat generation in highly dense electronic devices requires the use of materials tailored to facilitate efficient thermal management. The design of such materials may be based on the loading of thermally conductive fillers into the polymer matrix applied – as a thermal interface material – on the interface between two surfaces to reduce contact resistance. On the one hand, these additives enhance the thermal conductivity of the composite, but on the other hand, they increase the viscosity of the composite and hence impair its workability. This in turn could negatively affect the device–matrix interface. To address this problem, we suggest a tunable composite material comprising a combination of two different carbon-based fillers, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and graphite. By adjusting the GNP:graphite concentration ratio and the total concentration of the fillers, we were able to fine tune the thermal conductivity and the workability of the hybrid polymer composite. To facilitate the optimal design of materials for thermal management, we constructed a ‘concentration–thermal conductivity–viscosity phase diagram’. This hybrid approach thus offers solutions for thermal management applications, providing both finely tuned composite thermal properties and workability. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by fabricating a thermal interface material with tunable workability and testing it in a model electronic device.


Author(s):  
Amer M. Hamdan ◽  
Aric R. McLanahan ◽  
Robert F. Richards ◽  
Cecilia D. Richards

This work presents the characterization of a thermal interface material consisting of an array of mercury micro droplets deposited on a silicon die. Three arrays were tested, a 40 × 40 array (1600 grid) and two 20 × 20 arrays (400 grid). All arrays were assembled on a 4 × 4 mm2 silicon die. An experimental facility which measures the thermal resistance across the mercury array under steady state conditions is described. The thermal interface resistance of the arrays was characterized as a function of the applied load. A thermal interface resistance as low as 0.253 mm2 K W−1 was measured. A model to predict the thermal resistance of a liquid-metal micro droplet array was developed and compared to the experimental results. The model predicts the deformation of the droplet array under an applied load and then the geometry of the deformed droplets is used to predict the thermal resistance of the array. The contact resistance of the mercury arrays was estimated based on the experimental and model data. An average contact resistance was estimated to be 0.14 mm2 K W−1.


Author(s):  
David Shaddock ◽  
Stanton Weaver ◽  
Ioannis Chasiotis ◽  
Binoy Shah ◽  
Dalong Zhong

The power density requirements continue to increase and the ability of thermal interface materials has not kept pace. Increasing effective thermal conductivity and reducing bondline thickness reduce thermal resistance. High thermal conductivity materials, such as solders, have been used as thermal interface materials. However, there is a limit to minimum bondline thickness in reducing resistance due to increased fatigue stress. A compliant thermal interface material is proposed that allows for thin solder bondlines using a compliant structure within the bondline to achieve thermal resistance <0.01 cm2C/W. The structure uses an array of nanosprings sandwiched between two plates of materials to match thermal expansion of their respective interface materials (ex. silicon and copper). Thin solder bondlines between these mating surfaces and high thermal conductivity of the nanospring layer results in thermal resistance of 0.01 cm2C/W. The compliance of the nanospring layer is two orders of magnitude more compliant than the solder layers so thermal stresses are carried by the nanosprings rather than the solder layers. The fabrication process and performance testing performed on the material is presented.


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