Summary:

Thermal resistance is a major bottleneck in designing more efficient and better functioning electronics such as LEDs. A UK company has launched a product that coats standard aluminium with a nano-ceramic layer. A Metal Clad PCB is produced that has similar thermal properties to expensive ceramic ones at a much lower cost. Electronics and LED manufacturers are sought for commercial agreements and licensing, whilst third parties with complementary technologies are sought for technical cooperation.

Details:

All electronic circuits need thermal management, i.e. cooling. It is important for both on-going faultless functioning and for extending the productive lifetime of the device. It is crucial for technologies such as photovoltaics and light emitting diodes. Similarly, the miniaturisation of electronic devices is in need of better thermal management.

The cooling of a circuit is achieved through placing the circuit in close proximity with a metal plate or layer, or using thermal vias to route the heat away towards the heat sink. Where the circuit is in close proximity to the heat sink, an insulating layer is needed to avoid electrical breakdown. This dielectric still needs to conduct heat so there is a trade-off in play between the thermal and electric properties. A wide range of materials and prepregs are available to meet the thermal vs electric characteristics. They are generally considered to be expensive and there is a continuing search for better solutions.

An East of England company has won several awards for a new method that is more economical whilst offering several times lower thermal resistance. Using an electrochemical process, an aluminium substrate, flat or 3-d, is coated with a nano-ceramic layer just microns thick.  The nano-ceramic dielectric thickness can be controlled in the process and applied as thin as a 10µm layer – many times thinner than conventional dielectrics. The combination of the thinnest dielectric layer in the industry with the highest thermal conductivity yields the lowest thermal resistance of any Metal Clad Printed Circuit Board (MCPCB) material. Although the dielectric layer is thin it features high breakdown voltage. Consequently, performance similar to aluminium nitride is achieved at a much lower cost.

The method equally applies to aluminium foil, for flexible or printed electronics.

A copper layer is optionally bonded with a thin adhesive glue-line that is then processed with conventional PCB techniques. Some evaluators are shown in the picture. The company has opened a new manufacturing plant to meet medium volume demand.

The company welcomes enquiries from a wide range of electronics manufacturers for adaptation to specific requirements, commercial agreements with technical assistance, technical cooperation and licensing.

Type and Role of Partners Sought:

-Type of partner sought: industry

-Specific area of activity of the partner: electronics manufacturers, including PV and LED manufacturers.

- Task to be performed by the partner sought: adaptation of the designs to specific requirements, commercial agreements with technical assistance, and licensing. Owners of complementary technology are sought for technical cooperation.