Thermal Management for High Brightness LEDs

Driving LEDs at high power has the consequence of generating excess heat. Without proper thermal management, this excess heat will result in lower system efficacy and shorten the LED lifetime, depriving the user of the anticipated energy savings and diminished maintenance/replacement cost benefits.

Aavid Thermalloy’s wide selection of standard products provides easy, fast access to cooling solutions for the new generation of LED light sources. The standard range makes it easy to quickly prototype designs and for more challenging applications, we can help you design a solution tailored to your exact needs.

Heat Sinks for LEDs

Stampings for LED footprints up to 34 x 34mm

• Lightweight • Variety of fin configurations • Low Cost • Requires minimal structural support • Use with natural or forced convection airflow • Can support high volume production

Pin Fin for LED footprints up to 40 x 40mm

• Fin array allows airflow in any direction • Compact size • Available with pre-applied thermal tape • Excellent forced convection cooling • Reduced space requirement • Simple assembly • Cost effective

Extrusions for LED footprints 40mm and above

• Highly configurable • Low Thermal Resistance • Can incorporate structural and aesthetic elements • Cools multiple devices

Options & Accessories
We can provide a complete range of thermally conductive greases and adhesives for use with all heatsink products.

3M Thermally Conductive Tapes
3M has introduced thermal management solutions that enable today’s product designers and manufacturers to overcome the challenge of managing heat transfer within High Brightness Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Products include the 8940 Thermally Conductive Adhesive Tape, which efficiently manages thermal transfer away from the LED into the designated heat sink.

Traditional thermal management products in this area have their limitations: for instance, grease is messy to apply in such a small environment and as it tends to dry out, can have a limited shelf-life.

The 3M range of thermally conductive tapes, including the new 8940, provide adhesion, thermal conductivity and electrical insulation within a single product. The tape uses thermally conductive ceramic fillers, with a high temperature- resistant acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive on one or both sides, for easy and flexible application. Moreover, the tape is designed to last for the life of the product for which it is designed. In addition to the 8940 tape, 3M provides other product solutions for thermal management, all able to be customised into die-cut shapes.

Typical technical performance:
> 190 micron thermal conductivity at 25°C: 0.9 W/m*K (using ASTM D 5470 test method)
> 24-hour dwell time room temperature on an aluminium substrate
> 90° peel adhesion of 6N/cm (using AFERA 5001 test method)
> Overlap sheer of 9 Mpa (ASTM D 1002)
> Tensile strength 6-7 N/mm (EN ISO 527-2)
> Elongation at break is 80-120% (EN ISO 527-2)