Development of a novel direct metallisation process for Cambridge Nanotherm's nanoceramic-Aluminium substrate in order to create a unique highly thermally efficient substrate material for the global electronics industry

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Almost 1/5th of global electricity is used for lighting, accounting for c.1.9bn tons of CO2 pa.High Brightness Light Emitting Diodes (HBLEDs) are globally recognised as a highlyefficient, long lasting & versatile light source, offering significant promise in the target ofimproved environmental & economic performance within the future energy demands forlighting.Whilst technological advancements have improved the efficiency of HBLED lightingsystems, currently only 25% of the power utilised is converted into visible light, with theremaining 75% generating heat that is dissipated through the substrate on which the LED ismounted. Without efficient thermal management, increased temperature within LED chipsleads to a drop in efficiency, reliability & LED lifespan & is recognized as the main cause offailure.Cambridge Nanotherm (CNL) has developed & patented a highly innovative nanoceramicaluminiumsubstrate to addresses the demand for efficient thermal management withinHBLEDs. Despite the significant breakthroughs that CNL’s substrate has made in thereduction of thermal resistance and LED working temperatures, there is scope for much largerefficiency gains. These gains are restricted, the cause of which lies in the use of epoxy resinadhesive layer used to connect the conductor layer to the nanoceramic substrate.This project seeks to explore the technical feasibility of a direct metallisation process to applythe conductor layer directly to their unique nanoceramic substrate in order to create a highlythermally efficient substrate material for the electronics industry. CNL believe the use ofdirect metallisation will allow them to offer a breakthrough 75% reduction in thermalresistance and increase operating temperatures to c.400°C, at a significantly lower cost thanthe current market offering.The project will prove this process at bench-scale & if successful, pre-production prototyping& scale up will ensue with expected market entry in 2016.