Upconverting Luminophoric Medium for LED Thermal Dissipation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Optoelectronic devices face thermal management challenges, as excessive heat can damage components and degrade performance, and existing heat dissipation methods are inefficient, particularly in light emitting diodes (LEDs) where temperature increases pose a significant issue.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an upconverting luminophoric medium, such as anti-Stokes phosphors, that converts heat into light emission of a shorter wavelength, effectively dissipating heat through radiative cooling, reducing thermal energy and enhancing device performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional heat dissipation methods (heat sinks, fans, coolant media) are used, then heat can be removed from the device, but the device complexity and size increase due to additional thermal management components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the thermal management function from separate mechanical components (heat sinks, fans) and integrates it into the luminophoric medium itself. The upconverting material directly converts heat to light within the device structure, eliminating the need for external thermal management hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The luminophoric medium performs dual functions: converting pump light to output light and simultaneously converting heat to light. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate heat dissipation components, reducing device complexity while maintaining effective thermal management.
2Temperature
If heat is dissipated using conventional methods, then thermal energy is removed, but energy efficiency is reduced due to the additional components and energy consumption of fans and coolant pumps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful waste heat directly into useful light output. The upconverting material transforms thermal energy that would otherwise be wasted into additional photons, simultaneously improving heat dissipation and energy efficiency by converting a harmful byproduct into a beneficial output.
Solution Approach 2:
The luminophoric medium performs self-cooling by converting its own heat generation into useful light output. This eliminates the need for external energy-consuming cooling systems, as the device uses its operational energy to drive both light generation and thermal management functions.
3Device complexity
If heat is allowed to accumulate in the device, then the structure remains simple, but component reliability decreases due to thermal degradation and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The upconverting material converts harmful heat accumulation into beneficial light output, protecting components from thermal degradation while maintaining structural simplicity. This prevents reliability issues without adding complex thermal management hardware.
4Temperature
If upconverting luminophoric medium is used to convert heat to light, then heat dissipation is improved and device complexity is reduced, but the conversion efficiency depends on finding suitable materials with appropriate properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite luminophoric materials that combine downconverting and upconverting properties. These composite materials integrate multiple functions within a single material system, simplifying manufacturing by reducing the number of separate components while maintaining effective heat-to-light conversion.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively dissipates heat generated in optoelectronic devices, such as LEDs, by converting waste heat into visible light, reducing thermal stress, extending component lifespan, and eliminating the need for conventional thermal management structures like heat sinks and fans, while potentially augmenting device output.
Implementation Method 1
an upconverting luminophoric medium, such as anti-Stokes phosphors, that converts heat into light emission of a shorter wavelength
Implementation Method 2
anti-Stokes phosphors, that converts heat into light emission of a shorter wavelength
Implementation Method 3
effectively dissipating heat through radiative cooling
Data Source
AI summary
A microelectronic device that in operation generates or includes component(s) that generate heat, in which the device comprises a heat conversion medium that converts such heat into a light emission having a shorter wavelength than such heat, to thereby cool the device and dissipate the unwanted heat by such light output. The heat conversion medium can include an upconverting luminophoric material, e.g., an anti-Stokes phosphor or phosphor composition. The provision of such heat conversion medium enables thermal management of microelectronic devices, e.g., optoelectronic devices, to be achieved in an efficient manner, to prolong the operational service life of devices such as LEDs, laser diodes, etc. that are degraded in performance by excessive heat generation in their operation.