A polymer based miniature loop heat pipe with silicon substrate and temperature sensors for high brightness light-emitting diodes

• The polymer based miniature loop heat pipe (LHP) was proposed.
• LHP obtained reduced weight, transparency, and better “thermal conductivity’’.
• Silicon substrate as heat spreader enabled integration of temperature sensors.
• LEDs were benefited with higher luminous flux, more stable CCT and CRI.

Solid State Lighting (SSL) systems, powered by light-emitting diodes (LEDs), are revolutionizing the lighting industry with energy saving and enhanced performance compared to traditional light sources. However, around 70%–80% of the electric power will still be transferred to heat. As the elevated temperature negatively affects the maximum luminous output, efficiency, light quality, reliability and the lifetime of the SSL systems, thermal management is a key design aspect for LED products. In this work, an innovative thermal management with a package, a silicon substrate with temperature sensors and a polymer based loop heat pipe (LHP) was designed, manufactured and assembled. It can supply a low and relatively stable temperature to maintain higher optical power, more luminous flux and less color shift. In a word, the novel design can provide LEDs with the efficient thermal management and temperature monitoring with reduced weight, easy fabrication, less energy consumption and better light quality.