SMD Aluminium LED Printed Circuit Board (PCB) & Assembly - NextPCB

What is an Aluminium LED PCB?

Aluminium LED PCB is a specific type of PCB with an aluminium core designed to serve the lighting industry. The LED lighting industry is growing fast and inventing hundreds of devices contributing to the world. But, this rapidly growing industry is facing a challenge in the form of heat. The heat produced by the LEDs damage components and reduce the lifespan of LEDs and circuit boards.

Despite the damage, heat is not a strong enough reason to neglect the features of LED lighting and hold our hands back. Hence, the industry is working on finding ways to manage heat and reduce it to a point where it leaves minimum damage to the LED itself and the circuit board.

One way of reducing heat is to dissipate it at a faster rate. LED PCBs use aluminium as the base material because it has the highest thermal conductivity after copper. Aluminium, as the base of an LED PCB, takes the heat from its generating source and spreads it all over the board to boost heat dissipation. Aluminium-backed LED PCBs possess the highest quality and lifespan as they are protected from heat and PCB cracks. 

What is SMD LED PCB?

SMD LED PCB is a simple LED PCB that uses surface mount technology for assembling. The surface mount technology is appreciated in LED circuit boards because the surface mount components are directly connected to the board, so they get a better chance of transferring heat to the circuit board to dissipate it than through hole components. 

SMD LED PCB requires a low current to operate and can fit a lot of components and LEDs on a very short surface.
Aluminium-backed SMD LED PCBs are usually more reliable and perform for a long time since aluminium has outstanding resistance against thermal and mechanical stress.

What Are the Best Materials for SMD LED PCB?

SMD LED PCBs utilize surface mount assembling technology, which requires high-temperature tolerance, and the LEDs also generate a generous amount of heat during their operation. Considering the stated conditions while selecting the base material for SMD LED PCB, there should be two focuses the heat tolerance and thermal conductivity of the base material. 

Several materials, such as FR-4, CEM, and Metal and Ceramic base materials, are suitable for SMD LED PCBs, but for now, we are talking about the surface mount PCBs. Hence we will discuss the two best materials for surface mount LED PCBs.

Metal Base Materials

Thermal conductivity: 88 to 251 W/m·K
Glass Transition Temperature Tg: 500K or 226C
Copper, aluminium and tin are the three top most used metals in the PCB. However, aluminium is the most widely used material for LED PCBs. Metal is a good conductor of heat; this property of metal makes it the best base material for LED PCBs as it helps in dissipating the heat at the highest rate. The metal base materials also provide mechanical strength to the circuit board and are robust against mechanical and thermal stress and PCB cracks.    

Ceramic Base Materials

Thermal conductivity: 321 (AIN) and 325 (BeO) W/(m·K)
Glass Transition Temperature Tg: 242–286 °C
The ceramic materials include alumina, aluminium nitride and beryllium oxide. These materials have a heat conductivity of 398 W/m K and Glass Transition Temperature Tg of about 634K or 360C. Ceramic materials, due to their outstanding thermal properties and mechanical strength, are the second best option for SMD LED PCBs as they have the calibre to tolerate the hardships of assembling and installation.

What are the Advantages of Aluminum LED PCB?

The advantages of aluminium-backed SMD LED PCBs are considerably good compared to SMD LED PCBs with other standard base materials. Aluminium PCBs aid the circuit design in several ways, including

Faster Heat Dissipation

The thermal conductivity of aluminium is highest among all other materials except copper. Aluminium in SMD LED PCBs helps the circuit to stay cool by spreading the heat on allover the PCB surface. This way, the heat does not remain at its production point, which prevents the PCB and the component from heat damage.

Signal Integrity

The SMD LEDs are directly connected with the PCB base and hence require good insulation properties to resist cross-talk and electromagnetic interference among the signals. We know aluminium is a good conductor of heat and electricity. But with being a good conductor, aluminium also provides a stable dielectric constant DK, which helps in maintaining signal integrity and minimizing signal loss. 

Mechanical Strength

Aluminium is a flexible metal. A PCB base with the properties of metal combined with flexibility produces a PCB that can withstand harsh mechanical conditions and resist PCB cracks.

Applications of Aluminium LED PCB

SMD LED PCBs are energy efficient, eco-friendly, low cost and provide design flexibility. The features of LED PCBs have gained popularity in all mainstream industries as appropriate lighting has become a necessity for several industries.
SMD LED PCBs have significant applications in many industries like

• Medical
• Automobiles 
• Computer 
• Home Appliances

Difference Between LED Light: SMD, COB and IMD

SMD LED

SMD LEDs are surface mount diodes that convert current into light. The heat management of SMD LED is better than the COB and IMD lights. SMD LEDs are available in small packages that prevent the production of excess amount of heat at a particular place, and the LEDs are spread on a large surface, which boosts heat dissipation.

COB LED

Chip on board or COB LED is a group of nine or more diodes placed on a circuit. The COB LEDs provide a larger and brighter beam of light, and relatively it is a new non-SMD invention in the lighting industry that follows modern technology. The only drawback of COB LED is its low rate of heat dissipation. As stated above, COB is a combination of multiple diodes; it generates a large amount of heat on a particular spot that is hard to escape. Hence, COB LEDs require a highly thermally conductive material to boost heat dissipation. Mainly the COB LEDs utilize heat sinks and aluminium as the base material of the printed circuit board to dissipate heat at a faster rate.

IMD LED

IMD is an acronym for Integrated Matrix Devices. The IMD packaging introduces a way of submerging any even number of diodes into a single structure. Compared to SMD LEDs, the IMD LEDs are better integrated with technology to meet the demand for high-resolution displays and finer pixel pitches.

Bottom Line: The difference between SMD and COB is not huge, just COB is a group of multiple diodes on a particular surface, and SMD refers to the placement of individual diodes on a large surface with a considerable distance among them. Hence, the heat management of SMD LED is better than the COB LED. Whereas IMD LEDs serve the display industry.

NextPCB's High Quality 9 Watt LED Bulb PCB

9-Watt LED Bulbs are now the most commonly used household LED bulbs, replacing conventional lamps and reporting increased demand in the past years. These bulbs provide a lifespan of 30,000 hours, consume 80% less energy and provide brighter light compared to the traditional fluorescent and conventional lights. 
If you are looking for a manufacturer of a 9-Watt LED bulb PCB, you are at the right spot. At NextPCB, we have been manufacturing high-quality 9-watt LED bulb PCBs since the very beginning of LED bulb production in the market. To order your custom 9-watt LED bulb PCB, contact us.

LED Tube Light Printed Circuit Board

The same technology used in the bulbs comes in the packaging of tube lights. LED tube lights are replacing traditional 4-ft fluorescent lamps by providing lower energy consumption and higher efficiency and lifespan. Another reason for the popularity of LED tube light is that, unlike fluorescent lamps, they are not hazardous to the environment and does not require special handling when expired and out of use.

We here at NextPCB provide the fabrication and assembling of LED tube light PCBs. We perform several necessary tests on our fabricated and assembled circuit boards to ensure the delivery of error-free products. Contact us to know further about the tests and testing methods or to place your order for LED tube light PCB manufacturing and assembling.

NextPCB's Aluminum LED PCB Assembly Service

NextPCB has been providing LED PCB manufacturing and assembling services for 15 years. We have been manufacturing aluminium-backed LED PCBs since the beginning of LED PCB manufacturing. At NextPCB, we perform several quality checks on the fabricated and assembled circuit boards to ensure the delivery of an accurately working LED PCB.

NextPCB also offers other services, such as standard multi-layer and high-frequency PCB manufacturing, component sourcing, and through-hole and surface mount assembling of the circuit boards. Please contact us to avail our premium aluminium LED PCB assembly services along with testing.

Conclusion

LEDs are an efficient source of light that consumes less energy and provide a longer lifespan. The outstanding features of LED lighting are replacing conventional and fluorescent lighting for good.

LED lights are also gaining popularity in mainstream industries, like medical, automobile and telecommunication.

The rising desire for LED products is increasing the demand for efficient and high-quality LED PCBs. In such a case, NextPCB is offering its services in the aluminium SMD LED PCB assembling and manufacturing to make high-quality PCBs accessible for everyone.