Flexible LED Substrate with Thermal Conduits

The patent transitions from conventional thick package designs to a thin-film flexible substrate architecture, fundamentally changing the dimensional approach. By using a flexible polymeric dielectric substrate with integrated thermally conductive layers and conduit structures, the device achieves superior thermal dissipation in a reduced thickness profile, moving the thermal management solution into the plane of the flexible substrate rather than adding thickness.

The patent employs composite material structures combining flexible polymeric dielectric substrates with thermally conductive layers and filler materials. This composite approach integrates multiple material properties: the flexible substrate provides mechanical compliance and electrical isolation, while the thermally conductive layers and conduit fillers provide enhanced heat dissipation pathways, achieving both thin profile and superior thermal performance.

The patent introduces thermally conductive intermediary layers and conduit structures as heat transfer mediators between the high power LESDs and the flexible substrate. These intermediary thermal pathways efficiently conduct heat away from the light-emitting structures, preventing heat accumulation that would otherwise cause material deterioration and reliability issues, thereby enabling sustained high power operation.

The patent extracts heat from the high power LESD operation by implementing dedicated thermally conductive pathways and conduit structures that actively remove heat from the device. This extraction approach prevents heat buildup by providing controlled thermal egress routes, allowing the device to maintain high power output without the reliability degradation that would result from thermal accumulation.

The patent resolves this contradiction by creating a composite flexible substrate structure that combines polymeric dielectric materials with integrated thermally conductive layers and conduit fillers. This composite construction maintains the inherent flexibility and bendability of the polymeric substrate while incorporating thermal management pathways that actively conduct heat away from high power devices, thereby achieving both form factor flexibility and thermal dissipation capability.

The flexible polymeric dielectric substrate serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical flexibility and bendability for low form factor applications, electrical isolation between conductive elements, and as a structural matrix for integrating thermally conductive pathways. This multi-functionality allows the single substrate structure to address both flexibility requirements and thermal management needs without compromise.