JEDEC publishes four international thermal-testing standards for LEDs

JEDEC has recently published the first international standards for component-level testing of power LEDs, which define recommendations for thermal data on LED data sheets, and test environments and procedures.
The JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the standards organization based in Arlington, VA, has announced the publication of a new series of standards for component-level testing of high-brightness/power LEDs. Development within JEDEC’s JC-15 Committee involved LED industry leaders, and resulted in the new JESD51-5x series of standards aimed at thermal characterization of power LED components. The four standards, JESD51-5, JESD51-50, JESD51-51, JESD51-52 and JESD51-53, are in compliance with the International Commission on Illumination's (CIE) existing LED measurement recommendations.
In general lighting applications, thermal design is critical to ensuring expected LED lifetimes and light output. To date, a lack of widely accepted thermal testing standards for LED components meant that published data-sheet information was often questionable. The solid-state lighting community relies heavily on JEDEC standards to define, for instance, environmental stress, mechanical stress and LED assembly-process stress procedures for LED components. However, more specific recommendations for data sheets and test procedures were needed.

The JEDEC51-5X series standards, designed for LED manufacturers and LED integrators who assemble LEDs to substrates, include clear recommendations for data to include on LED data sheets, as well as test environments and procedures defined specifically for power LEDs. This approach is designed to remove previously existing ambiguity about how thermal performance of an LED package or a metal core printed circuit board (MCPCB) assembled LED device is identified.

John Kelly, JEDEC president, noted, “Clear guidelines for the thermal testing of LEDs were needed, and the publication of JESD51-50, 51, 52 and 53 is the result of quick action by industry leaders and JEDEC’s JC-15 Committee. JEDEC is pleased to offer manufacturers a comprehensive solution for their testing needs.”

Andras Poppe of Mentor Graphics and a key author of the JC-15 standards committee will present a course entitled, “Testing LEDs – According to the new JEDEC LED thermal testing standards” at CoolingZone LED 2012.