Development of a novel electrochemical process for the production of Cambridge Nanotherm's nanoceramic-Aluminium substrate aimed at addressing the thermal management issues associated with global LED technology

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With lighting constituting in excess of 20% of all electricity consumption in the UK, LightEmitting Diodes (LED’s) as a highly efficient, long lasting & versatile light source offerssignificant promise as a means to achieve improved environmental & economic performance on a global scale.Despite innovation in design & materials, thermal management remains the most criticalproblem associated with LED’s. Currently LED’s only convert circa 25% of the powerutilised into visible light with the remaining 75% turned into heat that must be effectivelyremoved. Increased temperature within LED chips leads to a drop of efficiency, reliability &lifespan & is recognised as the main cause of failure.LEDs dissipate heat through the substrates on which they are mounted. Through theapplication of a highly innovative & patented substrate using nanoceramic-aluminium whichhas twice higher thermal conductivity than any current techniques, Cambridge Nanothermhave addressed this issue, reducing LED working temperature by 15-25°C, increasing the light efficiency by up to 20% & doubling the lifetime of LEDs. The significance of the approach is already recognised by a number of globally established LED manufacturers who are currently trialling the product.Through the scope of the current project, CNT seek to develop an effective & economicmeans of manufacturing the technology on a commercial scale. Due to the specific properties of CNT’s substrate, existing current ceramic coating processes are not suitable, resulting in a need to develop a bespoke coating process. With support from the TSB, CNT aim to develop a pre-production prototype of an automated manufacturing process which is based on the proprietary electrochemical process of applying a dielectric ceramic layer on Aluminium base.If successful, the resulting manufacturing process will provide a means of exploitingnanoceramic-aluminium substrates within the 11.3bn Global LED market, addressing asignificant mkt need