Controlled High Filler Loading of Functionalized Al2O3-Filled Epoxy Composites for LED Thermal Management

Thermal management in light-emitting diode (LED) has been extensively researched recently. This study is intended to develop an effective thermally conductive epoxy composite as thermal interface material (TIM) for headlamp LEDs. Silane-functionalized aluminum oxide (Al2O3) powder of different average particle sizes (44 and 10 µm) was studied for its feasibility as filler at its maximum loading. A detailed comparison of three different methods of particle dispersions, hand-mix, speed-mix and calendaring process (3-roll mill), has been reported. The dispersion of Al2O3 particles, the thermal conductivity and thermal degradation characteristics of the composites were investigated and explained in detail. At 75 wt.% filler loading, 10 and 44 µm Al2O3 achieved composite thermal conductivities of 1.13 and 2.08 W/mK, respectively, which is approximately 528 and 1055% of enhancement with respect to neat epoxy. The package-level thermal performance of the LED employing the Al2O3-filled TIMs was carried out using thermal transient analysis. The experimental junction-to-ambient thermal resistances (RthJ-A) achieved were 6.65, 7.24, and 8.63 K/W for Al2O3_44µm, Al2O3_10µm and neat epoxy, respectively. The results revealed that the Al2O3_44µm fillers-filled composite performed better in both material-level and package-level thermal characteristics.