ITRI contracts with MPI Corp for technology transfer and patent licensing of LED thermal analysis system
Compact analyzer improves LED devices production yield, performance and lifespan
HSINCHU, TAIWAN--Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI ), Taiwan's largest and one of the world's leading high-tech research and development institutions, is pleased to introduce In-Line Compact Thermal Analyzer (ICTA) Technology. The world’s leading automatic thermal analyzer, ICTA offers a measurement speed of 12,000 LEDs per hour, reducing each LED’s component thermal resistance testing time to 0.3 seconds. This is 2,000 times faster than the traditional lab method where only six components can be measured per hour. ITRI will receive a 2014 R&D 100 Award in November for this breakthrough technology in the “Imaging” category.
Thermal performance has always been the primary factor impacting the life and light quality of LEDs. ICTA Technology is the most powerful, cost efficient and high performance thermal analyzer when compared to other LED thermal testers available today – greatly reducing the defect ratio of LED illumination products. While decreasing LED testing time, ICTA improves production yield, performance and lifespan of LED devices such as LED bulbs, mobile phones, TV, laptop display backlight, etc. This innovative technology has a high-speed temperature sensitive parameter (TSP) measurement technique that could reduce LED testing time by more than 90 percent, thereby improving the efficiency of thermal structure analysis. These attributes lead to more reliable LED devices for end-users. In power semiconductor devices, ICTA can be used to solve thermal-induced stress, enabling innovative package design and material property identification or facilitating lifespan estimation. “Up-to-now, measuring LED thermal resistance has been complex, time-consuming and could only take place in the laboratory at the product design stage,” said James, Mu Tao Chu, division director of the opto-electronics device and system applications division at ITRI. “With ICTA, manufacturers can now screen defective products on the production lines in real-time, optimizing production processes, increasing efficiencies to significantly lower LED lighting defect rates. This technology ensures, creating higher quality and more stable LED lighting products, for the delivery of best quality products to end-users, and finally, wider adoption of LED technology worldwide.” ICTA is the most efficient thermal analyzer, offering the critical thermal characteristics such as junction temperature and thermal resistance for semiconductor devices, including LEDs, High-Electron-Mobility Transistor (HEMT), Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Field-effect Transistor (MOSFET), and Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT). ITRI has given the first technology transfer and patent licensing contract to leading global manufacturer MPI Corporation. The company is engaged in technology cooperation that has yielded the world’s first transient thermal structure and in-line thermal resistance analyzer. This equipment is expected to get into the mass production stage by the end of 2014, which will both satisfy R&D and production authentication requirements. “Future LED illumination applications will require greater power needs in packaging, meaning that thermal resistance will become increasingly important. Since heat impacts the life and quality of a product, accurate measurement of LED thermal resistance will have a clear impact on product quality and cost,” said Anderson Fan, vice general manager of equipment operation division at MPI Corporation. “This cooperation with ITRI has successfully brought thermal resistance measurement technology out of the laboratory and to automated machinery. In the future, thermal resistance will be able to be measured in an automated process on the production line, significantly boosting the quality of LED products.” According to the U.S. Department of Energy, widely adopting LED lighting could save the country $265 billion and reduce electricity demand by one third in the next 20 years.1 ICTA’s powerful, cost efficient and high performance solution can make this technology a more attractive choice for home and office lighting. Commercialization of ICTA Technology is currently underway. The technology is available for transfer to companies worldwide. ITRI holds seven international patents on ICTA Technology including in Taiwan, China, and the U.S. Companies interested in licensing ICTA Technology should contact ITRI at 415 986 7212 or [email protected] for more information. Recognition for Outstanding Technology Innovation ITRI has received numerous awards for consecutive years since 2008. For example, in 2012, the institute received six R&D 100 Awards for Lignoxy, TEMM, aePLASMA, SideLighter, Light&Light, and AVA-Clamp. In 2011, the institute received six prestigious international awards: The Excellent Organization, Solar Industry Awards in the UK for Solar Radome, two R&D 100 Awards and The Wall Street Journal's Technology Innovation Awards for i2R e-Paper and HyTAC, and the Silver Award for The Society for Information Display's (SID) Display of the Year Awards for ITRI's Flexible Substrate for Displays. In 2010, the institute received five prestigious international awards: The Overall Gold Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award for its FlexUPD technology, runner-up in the Semiconductor category for its MDPS (Micro-Deformable Piezoresistive Sensor Technology) and three R&D 100 Awards for FlexUPD, i2/3DW and Reddex. About ITRI Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is one of the world’s leading technology R&D institutions aiming to innovate a better future for society. Founded in 1973, ITRI has played a vital role in transforming Taiwan's industries from labor-intensive into technology-oriented. Over the years, ITRI has accumulated over 21,000 patents, cultivated more than 140 CEOs, and incubated over 240 innovative companies, including well-known names such as UMC and TSMC. ITRI focuses on three application domains : Smart Living, Quality Health, and Sustainable Environment. In addition to its headquarters in Taiwan, ITRI has branch offices in Silicon Valley, Tokyo, Berlin, Moscow and Eindhoven in an effort to extend its R&D scope and promote opportunities for international cooperation around the world. For more information please visit http://www.itri.org.tw/eng About MPI MPI Corporation was founded in July, 1995 and has enjoyed growth well beyond industry standards due to an infusion between customer centricity, industry leading technology development, advanced manufacturing techniques and world class customer support. MPI’s three main product lines include state of the art Wafer Test Probe Cards, Production LED Equipment and Advanced Semiconductor Test Equipment. The industries MPI serves include Semiconductor, Materials Research, Military, Aerospace, Automotive, Fiber Optic, Electronic Components, Bio-Research, and more. Cross pollination of product technologies allows each new innovation to provide differentiation in areas that are meaningful to the markets we serve. MPI is the only publically owned, GTSM-listed company of its kind in Taiwan. For more information visit www.mpi-corporation.com 1 We’ve Finally Figured Out What Makes LED Bulbs So Efficient https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYLDieuPSqg&feature=youtu.be
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