LEDs come of Age
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have been around for years, primarily concentrated in such markets as cell phones, PDAs and other consumer electronics. Since most of these products have relatively short lifecycles, protecting LEDs was not of primary concern because the product would fail or become obsolete long before the LED failed. Today, as technological advancement in LED design and processes are continually boosting light output to rival incandescent, florescent and even halogen light sources, the need to protect the lamps against heat build-up is greater than ever before.

The Heat is ON
As is true for most electronic components, heat is the greatest threat to an LED. Not only can heat damage the electrical integrity of the LED, (eventually leading to lamp failure), it can also effect the light intensity and change the colour of the light output. The key to maintaining consistent, high-intensity output over an extended period of time is state-of-the-art thermal management materials such as T-Clad™ Insulated Metal Substrates (IMS®).

How It Works
In a typical LED configuration (Figure 1), heat generated by the LRD lamp is transferred to the base metal through the dielectric layer. However, most dielectrics selected for this purpose have little or no thermal conductivity to move heat away from the assembly and into the heat spreader (the metal base). Often referred to as enhanced dielectric, T-Clad™ minimises thermal impedance and conducts heat more effectively and efficiently than standard printed circuit boards (see Figure 2).