Thermal management of LEDs with HTSP Electrolube thermal conductive paste
LEDs are still a growing market as more and more traditional lighting is being replaced with LED devices, better in:
- Energy efficiency: consumes less energy and is therefore more economical and reduces environmental impact
- Durability: led light has a longer lifespan than other forms of lighting
- Safety: LEDs do not emit harmful UV or infrared radiation.
The automotive industry is also aware of the benefits of LED lighting, which is why many customers benefit from encapsulation resins, conformal coating, and thermal management materials, such as thermal conductive pastes, in their indoor and outdoor LED lighting designs.
HTSP Electrolube thermal conductive paste: difficulties in application
Several problems could occur in the application of thermal management products in the automotive industry.
Although LEDs are much more efficient than traditional forms of lighting, they still produce some heat. This heat has a negative effect on performance, so heat dissipation from the LED is of paramount importance. High temperature can not only degrade the life expectancy of the LED, but can also affect the color it emits. In vehicle lighting, this aspect is particularly important for safety reasons.
Thermally conductive pastes are generally applied at about >50µm, and the best results are usually obtained with a very small amount of material. If the material is applied too often, there is an increase in thermal resistance and a reduction in heat transfer between the device and the heat sink or enclosure. In fact, products generally selected for this type of application may be too thick (250µm) and difficult to apply. To cope with this problem Electrolube has a specific thermal conductive paste:
Electrolube’s HTSP
Passing the tests
The product underwent several tests before being proposed for different applications. The objective of the tests was mainly to:
- Check the long-term thermal stability of the product
- Check for pump-out formation during temperature changes associated with LED on/off.
The HTSP thermal conductive paste passed the following tests to the best of its ability, confirming that it has a higher thermal conductivity value than generally selected products, allowing LED performance to be greatly improved.
