2007 News

Shin-Etsu Chemical develops various silicone die-bond materials for LEDs

These are essential materials for improving the reliability of high-luminance LEDs

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. (Head office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Chihiro Kanagawa) has newly developed and begun sales of various kinds of silicone die-bond materials that are essential for the improvement of high luminance LEDs.

Shin-Etsu Chemical successfully conducted research-and-development of silicone die-bond material for high-luminance LED applications and developed three types of new products. They are: KER-3000-M2, a die-bond which is a high-transparency type that exhibits little discoloration and has high long-term reliability in withstanding the effects of heat and light; KER-3100-U2, which is a white-color type, and KER-3200-T1, which has low thermal resistance and superior thermal conductivity.

A die-bond material is a bonding material that secures an LED chip to its lead frame. Generally, epoxy resin is used for this application; however, for high-luminance LEDs, silicone has been attracting attention as an essential material from the point-of-view of reliability, and the development of such a silicone product was eagerly awaited.

Shin-Etsu has developed various silicone materials for high-luminance LEDs. In addition to the newly developed die-bond materials announced in this press release, Shin-Etsu also markets such silicone materials as KER-2500, KER-2600 and LPS series. These products are rubber-based potting materials with high long-term reliability. SCR1011 and SCR1012 are resin-based potting materials having a high modulus of elasticity, close to that of epoxy resins. Furthermore, Shin-Etsu has a line up of related materials, such as thermal interface materials and insulating materials for moisture prevention.

With the improvement in luminance and other technological developments, the applications of LEDs are rapidly expanding. They are being used in applications from display equipment such as traffic light signals to backlight light sources such as for LCD TVs and lighting materials, starting with automobile headlights. Furthermore, as a lighting material that is linked to efforts to reduce the burden on the global environment, its market expansion is expected.

Shin-Etsu will continue to pursue the development of cutting edge technologies in the future and will go forward with product development to meet the needs of a market, which is becoming more sophisticated.

Silicones are highly functional materials that combine characteristics of both organic and inorganic materials. They are materials that provide high-value-added features for products in a wide range of industrial fields, including electrical and electronic applications, automobiles, construction, cosmetics and chemicals.