Kyocera have developed the industries first surface-mount ceramic package for light emitting diodes (LEDs). The new products are suited to semiconductor applications and are now commercially available.
They are suited to the new efficient high brightness blue/white LEDs and are the only such devices to employ ceramics. They offer high heat dissipation and reliability and provide a solution to markets which are demanding smaller thinner packages for LEDs.
The devices are based on alumina and aluminium nitride materials. These make the mounts more heat resistant than more traditional materials such as resins. Furthermore, the ceramic materials offer superior heat dissipation properties. The combination of these properties enables the LEDs to operate brighter.
Other features and advantages of the surface-mount ceramic package are:
· Excellent thermal properties to withstand heat emitted by the LEDs
· The new materials are more resistant to hazardous environments, thus making them more reliable which can lead to longer life of the LED
· The smaller, thinner mounts mean that LEDs may now be used in applications where more traditional mounts were not possible due to their size
· Surface finishing using gold and silver plating improve reflective properties, resulting in improved brightness.
· The new mounts are available in array forms which improve the efficiency of the LED mounting process and reduces assembly costs.