1. LED failures: How to stop them dead David Scott-Maxwell Technical Director, Forge Europa

2. LED failures: How to stop them dead Before we start – what are ‘LEDs’?:

3. LED failures: How to stop them dead Before we start – these are ‘LEDs’:

4. LED failures: How to stop them dead Before we start – these are ‘LEDs’: ‘LEDs’ ARE NOT MUCH USE ON THEIR OWN!

5. LED failures: How to stop them dead Before we start – ‘LED failures’ = ‘Whole system failures’

6. LED failures: How to stop them dead Before we start – ‘LED failures’ = ‘Whole system failures’

7. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’?

8. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’?

9. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED

10. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED PCB

11. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED PCB Heatsink

12. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED PCB Heatsink Driver/PSU

13. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED PCB Heatsink Driver/PSU Enclosure

14. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED PCB Heatsink Driver/PSU Enclosure Optics

15. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED PCB Heatsink Driver/PSU Enclosure Optics Adhesives TIMs etc

16. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED PCB Heatsink Driver/PSU Enclosure Optics Adhesives TIMs etc Testing

17. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED PCB Heatsink Driver/PSU Enclosure Optics Adhesives TIMs etc Testing Packaging

18. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED PCB Heatsink Driver/PSU Enclosure Optics Adhesives TIMs etc Testing Packaging The user!

19. LED failures: How to stop them dead What’s in a ‘Whole system’? LED PCB Heatsink Driver/PSU Enclosure Optics Adhesives TIMs etc Testing Packaging The user!

20. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures:

21. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrical Overstress (EOS) Overheat Chemical Contamination Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)

22. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrical Overstress (EOS) Causes ‘Hot Plugging’ #1 LED killer - VERY easily done! …during in-factory test, luminaire installation …can be latent Reverse connection Effects Lights out (often short circuit) Prevention BE EOS AWARE, design-in circuit protection, lock down factory procedures, educate

23. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrical Overstress (EOS) Causes ‘Hot Plugging’ #1 LED killer - VERY easily done! …during in-factory test, luminaire installation …can be latent Reverse connection Effects Lights out (often short circuit) Prevention BE EOS AWARE, design-in circuit protection, lock down factory procedures, educate

24. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrical Overstress (EOS) Causes ‘Hot Plugging’ #1 LED killer - VERY easily done! …during in-factory test, luminaire installation …can be latent Reverse connection Effects Lights out (often short circuit) Prevention BE EOS AWARE, design-in circuit protection, lock down factory procedures, educate

25. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrical Overstress (EOS) Causes ‘Hot Plugging’ #1 LED killer - VERY easily done! …during in-factory test, luminaire installation …can be latent Reverse connection Effects Lights out (often short circuit) Prevention BE EOS AWARE, design-in circuit protection, lock down factory procedures, educate

26. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrical Overstress (EOS) Causes ‘Hot Plugging’ #1 LED killer - VERY easily done! …during in-factory test, luminaire installation …can be latent Reverse connection Effects Lights out (often short circuit) Prevention BE EOS AWARE, design-in circuit protection, lock down factory procedures, educate

27. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrical Overstress (EOS) Causes ‘Hot Plugging’ #1 LED killer - VERY easily done! …during in-factory test, luminaire installation …can be latent Reverse connection Effects Lights out (often short circuit) Prevention BE EOS AWARE, design-in circuit protection, lock down factory procedures, educate

28. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrical Overstress (EOS) Causes ‘Hot Plugging’ #1 LED killer - VERY easily done! …during in-factory test, luminaire installation …can be latent Reverse connection Effects Lights out (often short circuit) Prevention BE EOS AWARE, design-in circuit protection, lock down factory procedures, educate

29. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrical Overstress (EOS) Causes ‘Hot Plugging’ #1 LED killer - VERY easily done! …during in-factory test, luminaire installation …can be latent Reverse connection Effects Lights out (often short circuit) Prevention BE EOS AWARE, design-in circuit protection, lock down factory procedures, educate

30. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrical Overstress (EOS) Causes ‘Hot Plugging’ #1 LED killer - VERY easily done! …during in-factory test, luminaire installation …can be latent Reverse connection Effects Lights out (often short circuit) Prevention BE EOS AWARE, design-in circuit protection, lock down factory procedures, Educate

31. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Overheat Causes Modern Lighting Class LEDs can run HOT… …but there’s a limit to how much power they can handle …and adequate heatsinking must be provided …and users can/will overheat products Effects Reduced lifetime [LM80/TM21], colour shift Prevention Heatsink design is tough – don’t underestimate Educate customers

32. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Overheat Causes Modern Lighting Class LEDs can run HOT… …but there’s a limit to how much power they can handle …and adequate heatsinking must be provided …and users can/will overheat products Effects Reduced lifetime [LM80/TM21], colour shift Prevention Heatsink design is tough – don’t underestimate Educate customers XM-L / 105° / 2A L70>70khrs

33. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Overheat Causes Modern Lighting Class LEDs can run HOT… …but there’s a limit to how much power they can handle …and adequate heatsinking must be provided …and users can/will overheat products Effects Reduced lifetime [LM80/TM21], colour shift Prevention Heatsink design is tough – don’t underestimate Educate customers

34. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Overheat Causes Modern Lighting Class LEDs can run HOT… …but there’s a limit to how much power they can handle …and adequate heatsinking must be provided …and users can/will overheat products Effects Reduced lifetime [LM80/TM21], colour shift Prevention Heatsink design is tough – don’t underestimate Educate customers

35. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Overheat Causes Modern Lighting Class LEDs can run HOT… …but there’s a limit to how much power they can handle …and adequate heatsinking must be provided …and users can/will overheat products Effects Reduced lifetime [LM80/TM21], colour shift Prevention Heatsink design is tough – don’t underestimate Educate customers

36. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Overheat Causes Modern Lighting Class LEDs can run HOT… …but there’s a limit to how much power they can handle …and adequate heatsinking must be provided …and users can/will overheat products Effects Reduced lifetime [LM80/TM21], colour shift Prevention Heatsink design is tough – don’t underestimate Educate customers

37. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Chemical Contamination Causes Silicones particularly vulnerable to ‘charring’ LED manufacturer’s black lists & white lists Sometimes reversible, sometimes not… Effects Reduced lifetime, colour shift Prevention Check the lists, do your own tests, be aware of ‘hidden’ chemical usage.

38. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Chemical Contamination Causes Silicones particularly vulnerable to ‘charring’ LED manufacturer’s black lists & white lists Sometimes reversible, sometimes not… Effects Reduced lifetime, colour shift Prevention Check the lists, do your own tests, be aware of ‘hidden’ chemical usage.

39. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Chemical Contamination Causes Silicones particularly vulnerable to ‘charring’ LED manufacturer’s black lists & white lists Sometimes reversible, sometimes not… Effects Reduced lifetime, colour shift Prevention Check the lists, do your own tests, be aware of ‘hidden’ chemical usage.

40. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Chemical Contamination Causes Silicones particularly vulnerable to ‘charring’ LED manufacturer’s black lists & white lists Sometimes reversible, sometimes not… Effects Reduced lifetime, colour shift Prevention Check the lists, do your own tests, be aware of ‘hidden’ chemical usage.

41. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Chemical Contamination Causes Silicones particularly vulnerable to ‘charring’ LED manufacturer’s black lists & white lists Sometimes reversible, sometimes not… Effects Reduced lifetime, colour shift Prevention Check the lists, do your own tests, be aware of ‘hidden’ chemical usage.

42. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Chemical Contamination Causes Silicones particularly vulnerable to ‘charring’ LED manufacturer’s black lists & white lists Sometimes reversible, sometimes not… Effects Reduced lifetime, colour shift Prevention Check the lists, do your own tests, be aware of ‘hidden’ chemical usage.

43. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Chemical Contamination Causes Silicones particularly vulnerable to ‘charring’ LED manufacturer’s black lists & white lists Sometimes reversible, sometimes not… Effects Reduced lifetime, colour shift Prevention Check the lists, do your own tests, be aware of ‘hidden’ chemical usage.

44. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrostatic Discharge Causes Rare due to protected LED components, good ESD handling, protection via circuitry BUT - can be latent… Effects Lights out Prevention Install & audit ESD handling procedures, design-in circuit protection

45. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrostatic Discharge Causes Rare due to protected LED components, good ESD handling, protection via circuitry BUT - can be latent… Effects Lights out Prevention Install & audit ESD handling procedures, design-in circuit protection

46. LED failures: How to stop them dead LED failures: Electrostatic Discharge Causes Rare due to protected LED components, good ESD handling, protection via circuitry BUT - can be latent… Effects Lights out Prevention Install & audit ESD handling procedures, design-in circuit protection

47. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Electronic product reliability Key component lifetime Soldering

48. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Electronic Product Reliability Electronic products can be extremely reliable! … but ‘you gets what you pays for’… ‘0.2%/1000hrs’ de-facto standard for lighting electronics

49. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Electronic Product Reliability Electronic products can be extremely reliable! … but ‘you gets what you pays for’… ‘0.2%/1000hrs’ de-facto standard for lighting electronics

50. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Key Component Lifetime Causes Electrolytic capacitors Freewheel diodes Bridge rectifiers Optocouplers … etc etc … Effects Lights out, flickering, EMC non-compliance, … Prevention Design for product lifetime, control manufacturing

51. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Key Component Lifetime Causes Electrolytic capacitors Freewheel diodes Bridge rectifiers Optocouplers … etc etc … Effects Lights out, flickering, EMC non-compliance, … Prevention Design for product lifetime, control manufacturing

52. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Key Component Lifetime Causes Electrolytic capacitors Freewheel diodes Bridge rectifiers Optocouplers … etc etc … Effects Lights out, flickering, EMC non-compliance, … Prevention Design for product lifetime, control manufacturing

53. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Key Component Lifetime Causes Electrolytic capacitors Freewheel diodes Bridge rectifiers Optocouplers … etc etc … Effects Lights out, flickering, EMC non-compliance, … Prevention Design for product lifetime, control manufacturing

54. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Key Component Lifetime Causes Electrolytic capacitors Freewheel diodes Bridge rectifiers Optocouplers … etc etc … Effects Lights out, flickering, EMC non-compliance, … Prevention Design for product lifetime, control manufacturing

55. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Soldering Causes Low operator skill Poorly controlled processes Exotics Effects Lights out Prevention Control manufacturing, IPC-A-610-E

56. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Soldering Causes Low operator skill Poorly controlled processes Exotics Effects Lights out Prevention Control manufacturing, IPC-A-610-E

57. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Soldering Causes Low operator skill Poorly controlled processes Exotics Effects Lights out Prevention Control manufacturing, IPC-A-610-E

58. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Soldering Causes Low operator skill Poorly controlled processes Exotics Effects Lights out Prevention Control manufacturing, IPC-A-610-E

59. LED failures: How to stop them dead Driver/PSU failures: Soldering Causes Low operator skill Poorly controlled processes Exotics Effects Lights out Prevention Control manufacturing, IPC-A-610-E

60. LED failures: How to stop them dead Conclusion:

61. LED failures: How to stop them dead Conclusion: Don’t worry too much – LED lighting can be extremely reliable!

62. LED failures: How to stop them dead Conclusion: Don’t worry too much – LED lighting can be extremely reliable!

63. LED failures: How to stop them dead Conclusion: Don’t worry too much – LED lighting can be extremely reliable!

64. LED failures: How to stop them dead Conclusion: Don’t worry too much – LED lighting can be extremely reliable! BUT – you need to be profoundly aware of all the issues to achieve this…

65. LED failures: How to stop them dead Thank you – and good luck! David Scott-Maxwell Technical Director, Forge Europa