1. Brief
introduction
LED
module now is widely used in electronics-related products, with the expanding
range of applications and development of lighting systems, from about 1990 high
power requirements are rapid rise, especially in the form of white high power.
The lighting system is now use LED Power
more than 1W, 3W, 5W even reach more than 10W. Therefore, the thermal
performance of heat dissipation substrate has become the most important issues.
The main factors affecting LED cooling includes LED chip, chip carrier board,
chip packaging and module materials and design, the accumulated heat of the LED
and packaging materials mostly dissipated by conduction. So the LED chip
substrate and the LED chip package designs and materials has become the main
key.
2. Heat
dissipation substrate effect to LED module
Red
LED light appear from 1970,then soon evolution to the blue and green. The early
mostly use on some signs, such as the directions on the appliances. To the
beginning of 2000, the LED's use began to enter another phase as the emergence
of white high-power LED. Look like a large-scale outdoor version, a small
display backlight. But with the rapid evolution of high-power LED, estimated
that from 2010, the automotive lighting, indoor lighting and special lighting
demand will increasing. However, these high power lighting equipment are more
stringent to the thermal performance requirements. The ceramic substrate is
currently the most commonly used in high-power LED of the substrate material
which is a high cooling capacity and high heat resistance, air tightness.
However,
the ceramic substrates are commonly make of LTCC or thick-film technology on
current market. This type of product is subject to the preparation of screen
printing technology, makes its alignment accuracy can’t fit more advanced
welding. While the ceramic substrates which use of thin-film technology
provides a product of high alignment accuracy.
3. Thermal
substrate selection
Traditional
PCB substrate material features a highly commercialized, the early development
of the LED has a considerable influence. However, with improved power of LED,
The LED substrate cooling capacity will become an important feature of the
material, therefore, high-performance ceramic substrate has become the main
cooling LED substrate material, and gradually accepted by the market. In recent
years, in addition to the material properties of the ceramic substrate itself
issues to be considered, the metal on the substrate Line width, diameter, metal
surface roughness and adhesion requirements on the increase, making a prepared
traditional ceramic thick film technology substrate gradually not enough for
use, and thus developed a thin-film ceramic substrates, This article will focus
on the thick and the thin film process and product characteristics to analyze
the differences.
4. Ceramic
substrates
From
the traditional PCB (FR4) board, and now the ceramic substrate, LED constantly
to the needs of the development of higher power, This stage ceramic substrate
metal lines are forming by thick film technology. However, thick film printing alignment
accuracy make it impossible to keep up with advances of LED packaging
technology. The main factor in the higher power LED element thermal design is
the use of flip-chip and eutectic packages Technology. The introduction of
these technologies can not only use high luminous efficiency of the LED chip,
but also can greatly reduce the thermal resistance and allows engagement is
more perfect, so that the overall operation of the power are relatively
improved. However, the application of these two bonding method needs to have
precise basis for the design of metal lines, position the exposure lithography
method for thin-film ceramic substrates becomes the precise circuit design
mainstream.
4.1 Thick
film printing ceramic substrate
Thick film technology are mostly formed
graphic and line using screen printing. Therefore, the integrity and accuracy
on the bit lines of line graph tend to increase as the number of printing
screen tension changes with significant differences in progressivity. This
result will affect the subsequent packaging process on position accuracy. As
device dimensions continue to shrink, screen printing graphic size and
resolution has its limitations, as the reduced size, screen printing graphics
presented in each unit size difference (uniformity) and the metal thickness
differences will become more apparent. In order to be able to continue to
shrink circuit size and accuracy, LED heat sink substrate is bound to continue
to improve production technology. Thus the introduction of thin film technology
has become one of the ways to improve, however, only a handful of manufacturers
has a mature film metallized ceramic substrate technology in china internal.
4.2 Thin
film technology applied to ceramic substrates
The introduction of thin film technology
is solved circuit size reduction process. The combination of high vacuum
coating technology and photolithography technique, Line pattern size can be
significantly reduced, and at the same time meet the precise requirements on
the bit line.
5. Conclusion
We
have two different LED cooling substrates to make a difference in the analysis
process. Thin film technology ceramic substrates with high equipment and
technology. Integrated materials development threshold required, such as
exposure, vacuum deposition, development, evaporation, sputtering plating and
electroless plating techniques. In the current market scale, film products cost
relative higher, but once the market reaches a certain level, they will be
reflected in the cost structure, thick film technology on price differences
will significantly shorten relatively.