PCBs boast improved LED thermal management

SinkPAD Corp. has released its SinkPAD aluminum PCB technology. The thermally enhanced PCBs claim to be a complete and effective solution to the challenges faced by the solid state lighting industry, specifically those with aluminum LED PCB applications.

The SinkPAD technology improves LED thermal management in LED systems. It promises to be effective in high-power LED cooling, and possible for commercialization.

SinkPAD conducts heat out of the LED system (LED conduction cooling) by enabling a direct thermal path between the LED and surrounding atmosphere. The LED thermal resistance can be substantially reduced by eliminating the lowest thermal conductivity/highest thermal resistance component, the dielectric material. Unlike conventional IMS PCB or MCPCB, the dielectric material in a SinkPAD PCB functions only as an electrically insulated barrier to the metal base but leaves it thermally connected, i.e. direct thermal path. The thermal path of an LED should be electrically neutral within the LED package, such as that of Cree XP, XM-L, MT-G, XR, Luxeon Rebel from Philips Lumiled, Oslon SSL from OSARM, N219 from Nichia, PhlatLight from Luminus etc., in order to solder the LED directly to the SinkPAD.