A study of thermal regime in the high-power LED arrays

Thermal resistance and temperature distribution for high-power AlGaInN LED chip-on-board arrays were measured by different methods and tools. The p–n junction temperature was determined through measuring a temperature-dependent forward voltage drop on the p–n junction, at a low measuring current after applying a high heating current. Furthermore, the infrared thermal imaging technique was employed to obtain the temperature map for the test object. A steady-state 3D computational model of the experimental setup was created including temperature-dependent power dissipation in the LED chips. Simulations of the heat transfer in the LED array were performed to further investigate temperature gradients observed in the measurements. Simulations revealed possible thermal deformation of the assembly as the reason for the hot spot formation. The bending of the assembly was confirmed by surface curvature measurements.