PCBFAE
Newbie level 5
SinkPAD is a thermal management Printed Circuit Board (PCB) technology that makes it possible to conduct heat out of a LED and into the atmosphere in a faster and more efficient manner. SinkPAD is an alternative technology to the conventional Aluminum PCB or MCPCB providing superior thermal performance for medium to high power LEDs. This is the most economical & scalable "Direct Thermal Path" MCPCB solution available for the LED application.
SinkPAD technology has magnitudes higher thermal efficiency than even the very best MCPCB in the market. SinkPAD MCPCB is available with Aluminum base metal or Copper base metal.Aluminum based SinkPAD MCPCB can transfer heat at the rate up to 135 W/m.K compared to the conventional MCPCB of 1-4 W/m.k. The rate of transfer for heat can be increased up to 385 W/m.k. by using copper base SinkPAD MCPCB.
SinkPAD technology makes it possible to increase the thermal conduction rate from the slug (i.e. thermal pad within the LED package) to the metal base of a PCB from the industry standards of 1 - 4 W/m.K to that of the metal base itself which ranges between 135 W/m.K and 385 W/m.K. In essence SinkPAD PCB technology provides Direct Thermal Path to the LED by eliminating dielectric from the thermal path.
To understand how SinkPAD technology works let's first review the primary thermal path found in LED applications.In a LED the heat originates at the chip (die) in the same way that in a normal light bulb heat originates at the filament. The key difference is that in the case of a light bulb the heat is radiated into the atmosphere and in the case of a LED heat must be conducted through a series of mediums before it reaches the atmosphere. A high rate of thermal conduction means cooler running LEDs while a low rate means very hot and potentially self destructive LEDs. If all substances had the same and low thermal resistance then it would not matter how many mediums heat would have to be conducted through before it reached the atmosphere. Since this is not the case,an ideal situation is one in which any substance with a low thermal conductivity & a high thermal resistance is removed from the conduction thermal path. These low thermal conduction/high thermal resistance substances slow the transfer of heat and therefore increase junction temperature.
SinkPAD technology has magnitudes higher thermal efficiency than even the very best MCPCB in the market. SinkPAD MCPCB is available with Aluminum base metal or Copper base metal.Aluminum based SinkPAD MCPCB can transfer heat at the rate up to 135 W/m.K compared to the conventional MCPCB of 1-4 W/m.k. The rate of transfer for heat can be increased up to 385 W/m.k. by using copper base SinkPAD MCPCB.
SinkPAD technology makes it possible to increase the thermal conduction rate from the slug (i.e. thermal pad within the LED package) to the metal base of a PCB from the industry standards of 1 - 4 W/m.K to that of the metal base itself which ranges between 135 W/m.K and 385 W/m.K. In essence SinkPAD PCB technology provides Direct Thermal Path to the LED by eliminating dielectric from the thermal path.
To understand how SinkPAD technology works let's first review the primary thermal path found in LED applications.In a LED the heat originates at the chip (die) in the same way that in a normal light bulb heat originates at the filament. The key difference is that in the case of a light bulb the heat is radiated into the atmosphere and in the case of a LED heat must be conducted through a series of mediums before it reaches the atmosphere. A high rate of thermal conduction means cooler running LEDs while a low rate means very hot and potentially self destructive LEDs. If all substances had the same and low thermal resistance then it would not matter how many mediums heat would have to be conducted through before it reached the atmosphere. Since this is not the case,an ideal situation is one in which any substance with a low thermal conductivity & a high thermal resistance is removed from the conduction thermal path. These low thermal conduction/high thermal resistance substances slow the transfer of heat and therefore increase junction temperature.
