Afrooz Zarisfi

Silicone materials for LED packaging

Silicone based materials have attracted considerable attention from light emitting diode (LED) manufacturers for use as encapsulants and lenses for many high brightness LED (HB LED) devices. Currently silicones function in two key roles in HB LED devices, (1) as protective lenses and (2) stress relieving encapsulants for wire bond protection. The key attributes of silicones that make them attractive as light path materials for high brightness HB LEDs include their high transparency in the UV-visible region, controlled refractive index (RI), stable thermo-mechanical properties, and tuneable modulus from soft gels to hard resins. This paper will describe recent developments in moldable silicone hard resin materials. Progress on cavity moldable and liquid injection moldable (LIM) silicone compositions for discreet components is described. Also, an example of liquid injection overmolding is presented.