LED R&D

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Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have become the standard for lighting in recent years because of the many advantages they offer over incandescent or fluorescent options.  To name a few, they use much less energy per lumen (up to 95% efficient), last an incredibly long time, and can be tuned to nearly any color of light.  The cost of this relatively new technology has also dropped significantly as manufacturing methods have been scaled and further refined.  This 97+ billion-dollar market is expected to grow 10+% in the coming years.  You can expect to see many new use cases innovations as the need to differentiate product offerings increases.

Phosphors a critical component in LED lights as they absorb the blue light generated by the LED and emit different colors of light.  This is the basis for natural looking LED lights and even LED displays.  Proper dispersion of phosphor in a carrier is critical to achieve the desired performance.  Mixing the phosphor with the carrier can be a difficult task as the phosphors have a relatively high density and a tendency to fall out of suspension.  This means they must be mixed in smaller batches and resuspended just before application to the LED.  Vacuum degassing the system is also generally necessary as this prevents the formation of bubbles/voids when the carrier is rapidly cured with heat.

One of the keys to achieving a long lasting and rugged product with any type of electronics is to encapsulate / “pot” the components.  This hermetically seals them to keep out moisture & other materials that could damage the product or reduce performance.  Potting also protects delicate components from vibration and shock. Properly mixing the potting compound ensures that it will cure fully and achieve the best physical properties. Vacuum degassing the potting compound will prevent bubbles or voids (especially when using heat to accelerate cure).  It is an important step as those bubbles & voids could potentially cause a failure if unaddressed.