Metal-backed PCB reduces LED device temperature by up to 20°C

The culmination of two years of development using Cambridge Nanotherm's ceramic dielectric technology, Nanotherm MBPCB (Metal-Backed Printed Circuit Board) is an innovative thermal management material with a dielectric thermal conductivity of 7 W/mK.

This means the metal-backed PCB is able to significantly reduce LED die temperatures, even in the most thermally challenging luminaire designs. The company’s core IP is in its unique process for converting Aluminium into Alumina (Al2O3), allowing the surface of an Aluminium plate to be converted into a layer of Alumina as thin as 10 micron, which acts as a dielectric. A range of standard PCB fabrication techniques can then be used to apply circuitry onto the nano-ceramic dielectric layer.

Independent testing of the Nanotherm MBPCB in LED lighting applications has shown that it offers a 20% reduction in substrate thermal resistance over some of the best available metal-backed PCBs. In back-to-back comparison testing with other metal-backed PCBs, LED temperatures were seen to be reduced by as much as 20°C, thus allowing designers to increase component density and power or give longer lifetime guarantees.

Visit Cambridge Nanotherm at www.camnano.com

This article originally appeared on EE Times Europe.