News Release from: The Bergquist Company
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 28 June 2004
Green light for thermal substrates
Osram Opto Semiconductors is using Bergquist Thermal Clad IMS technology to deliver effective heat dissipation in the company's latest Trafficsignal range of LED array-based traffic light solutions.
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Osram Opto Semiconductors is using Bergquist Thermal Clad insulated metal substrate (IMS) technology to deliver effective heat dissipation in the company's latest Trafficsignal range of LED array-based traffic light solutions. The LED arrays used in the Osram Trafficsignal products are based on the company's Power Topled family of surface mount power LEDs. These high-intensity red, yellow and green InGaAlP and InGaN devices have power dissipation ratings of up to 180mW, and the number of LEDs used in each light is between 60 and 120 depending on the colour.
This combination of power dissipation and mounting density - plus the need to operate in some very high ambient temperatures - requires an effective solution for rapidly dissipating heat away from the LED arrays.
As surface mount devices, the majority of heat generated by the Topled LED lamp is transferred to the printed circuit board through the base metal to the dielectric layer.
However, during the traffic signal development, Osram found that conventional FR4 substrates did not deliver the appropriate level of heat dissipation because the dielectric layer that FR4 employs did not offer a high enough level of thermal conductivity.
The company also experimented with aluminium substrate materials that, again, could not deliver the requisite levels of thermal conductivity.
Eventually the search for alternative substrate materials led the Osram team to The Bergquist Company's Thermal Clad insulated metal substrate (IMS) technology.
Thermal Clad IMS comprises a circuit layer, a thermally enhanced dielectric layer and a metal substrate.
The dielectric layer offers electrical isolation with high thermal conductivity and bonds the base metal and circuit foil together.
Designed originally to provide thermal management solutions for higher-watt-density surface-mount applications where die size is reduced and heat issues are a concern, Thermal Clad is perfectly suited to long-life, high-power LED applications.
Thermal Clad minimises thermal impedance and conducts heat more effectively and efficiently than traditional PCB materials, ensuring the lower operating temperatures needed for long-life, consistent LED operation.
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