Assessment Methodology of Junction Temperature of Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

High junction temperature directly or indirectly affects the optical performance and reliability of high power LEDs in many ways. This paper is focused on junction temperature characterization of LEDs. High power LEDs (3W) were tested in temperature steps to reach a thermal equilibrium condition between the chamber and the LEDs. The LEDs were generated by pulsed currents with duty ratios (0.091% and 0.061%) in multiple steps from 0mA and 700mA. The diode forward voltages corresponding to the short pulsed currents were monitored to correlate junction temperatures with the forward voltage responses for calibration measurement. In junction temperature measurement, forward voltage responses at different current levels were used to estimate junction temperatures. Finally junction temperatures in multiple steps of currents were estimated in effectively controlled conditions for designing the reliability of LEDs.