The Evolution of LED Packaging: New Approaches for Solid State Lighting

Abstract

The rapid evolution of solid state lighting is driving rapid and innovative approaches to LED packaging. While the bulk of LEDs are still packaged using decades old technology, the cost and performance needs of solid state lighting are forcing the development of new light emitter packaging technology, some of it being imported from more conventional electronic packaging. Concepts like wafer level packaging, chip on flex technology and SIP technology are infiltrating the LED packaging landscape, but with innovations developing from the need to simultaneously manage input power, thermal dissipation and light extraction for energy efficient lighting. Lighting cost constraints are also driving new requirements for higher packaging speeds and LED integration directly into lighting fixtures rather than through the conventional die-to-package-to-board-to-system sequence. Finally, lighting system performance specifications like intensity, color quality, glare, and beam pattern, all dependent on how light moves from inside the die to the user, are forcing new system level requirements into the LED packaging arena. This talk will discuss how the development and evolution of solid state lighting systems are working to drive innovation and evolution in the development of LED packaging materials, structures and methods. With the need for energy efficient lighting driving a rapid transition from bulbs and tubes to solid state devices, LED packaging is poised for a revolution where the conventional roles of semiconductor packaging are redefined in new and exciting ways that are needed to make solid state lighting a practical reality.