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PCBD-Oct2017

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68 The PCB Design Magazine • October 2017 Moving on from my overview of common thermal 'problems and solutions' published in last month's column, I'd like to focus more closely this month on a specific application area for thermal management solutions—and it's a 'hot' one, too: LED luminaires and their associ- ated electronics. The LED lighting industry is a global growth phenomenon and the sector's de- mand for effective, high-quality electrochemi- cals is enormous. While LEDs have been present in many elec- tronic devices for a number of years, more recent developments have led to their use in all types of domestic, commercial and automotive light- ing, signage and domestic appliance products. In offering alternatives to halogen, incandes- cent and fluorescent lighting systems for both interior and exterior applications, the growth of the LED lighting market alone is expected to grow into a $70 billion industry by 2020; this represents a growth from 18% market share to 70% market share in just over five years. We are currently serving the LED industry in every aspect of product design and product pro- tection, including areas such as potting, encap- sulation, and conformal coating. For the pur- poses of this article, however, I'm going to con- centrate on the thermal management of LED assemblies, and how materials selection and ap- plication can influence the life expectancy and long-term performance of LED lighting systems. As in my first column on this subject, I'm go- ing to return to my original FAQ format, based on the many queries that our customer support teams field every day on the telephone, at exhi- bitions and when visiting customers' premises. I've selected five common enquiries about LEDs followed by their respective responses. by Jade Bridges ELECTROLUBE SENSIBLE DESIGN

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