With the demand for polycarbonate for the production of LED lighting systems growing, Bayer MaterialScience has been steadily expanding its product range to include injection molding and extrusion granules as well as semi-finished film and sheet products. The latest list of company product developments includes polycarbonates with particularly high thermal conductivity for cooling elements used in the thermal management of LEDs.
According to Dr. Klaus Reinartz, head of the global LED program at Bayer MaterialScience, polycarbonate weighs less and offers greater design freedom compared to aluminum, allowing the cooling ribs to be lighter and more delicate and the heat to escape more easily. Reinartz reports that Bayer MaterialScience is developing “tailored materials that correspond to the specific requirements of various LED application” and mentions that the company’s injection-molded cooling elements in development “require no post-treatment, enabling cost-effective production with low energy consumption.” He indicates the MaterialScience product Makrolon TC8030—released earlier this year—as an example.
Bayer MaterialScience is also working on polycarbonate diffuser sheets and films to alter the light color produced by LEDs as well as several solutions for energy-efficient lighting technology based on organic LEDs (OLEDs).
