Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Performance analysis of MgO/ZnO multilayer thin film as heat spreader on Al substrates for high-power LED thermal management applications

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Towards improving structural, surface, and thermal properties of MgO heat spreader, ZnO thin film was interstacked into MgO. This would improve heat dissipation and keeping the temperature as well as the junction temperature of LEDs in safe operating conditions and make the MgO/ZnO multilayer thin film as a reliable heat spreader material in thermal management application. XRD measurements, FESEM, and AFM analysis were employed in examining the structure, morphology, particle size, and topography of the spin-coated monolithic MgO and multilayer MgO/ZnO thin films, respectively. Improvement in crystal size, reduction in residual stress, lattice strain, and dislocation density were recorded for MgO/ZnO multilayer films. Similarly, introduction of ZnO into MgO resulted an improvement in surface morphology with large particle size (76 nm) and decrease in surface roughness from 19.1 to 9.6 nm. From thermal transient analysis, a noticeable difference in junction temperature raise (ΔTJ = 27.07 °C) and high difference in total thermal resistance (ΔRth-tot = 5.3 K/W) were recorded for LED fixed on 6:4 L MgO:ZnO thin film-coated aluminum substrate. Introduction of ZnO into MgO improves the structure and surface qualities as well as thermal performance of MgO thin film and LEDs mounted on them. The optimized multilayer MgO/ZnO ceramic-ceramic composite thin film could be employed for efficient, reliable, and longer life LEDs thermal management as heat spreader.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. M.S. Idris, S. Subramani, W.M.W. Ahmad et al., Synthesis of MgO thin film on aluminum and copper substrates as thermal interface materials. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 66, 1450–1457 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. M.S. Idris, S. Subramani, W.M.W. Ahmad et al., Heat transfer enhancement in light-emitting diode packaging employing different molar concentration of magnesium oxide thin films as a heat spreader. Int. J. Energy Res. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1002/er.5175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Z. Habibah, A. N. Arshad, M. H. Wahid et al., Properties of ZnO/MgO multilayer films as insulating layer prepared by sol-gel method. in 2012 10th IEEE International Conference on Semiconductor Electronics (ICSE) (2012), pp. 73–77

  4. J. Luo, R. Stevens, R. Taylor, Thermal diffusivity/conductivity of magnesium oxide/silicon carbide composites. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 80, 699–704 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. M. Caglar, J. Wu, K. Li et al., Mg x Zn 1 À x O ( x = 0–1) films fabricated by sol–gel spin coating. Mater. Res. Bull. 45, 284–287 (2010)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. A. Cemail, Investigation of the improvements on mechanical properties and thermal performance of MgO-MgAl2O4 composite refractories by additions of ZnO-Al203 to MgO. Adv. Mater Res. 445, 530–535 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Y. Kim, J. Lee, N. Kim et al., Thermal conductivity-controlled Zn-doped MgO/Mg(OH)2 micro-structures for high-efficiency thermo-dynamic heat energy storage. J. Asian Ceram. Soc. 8, 1–7 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  8. S. Ting, P. Chen, H. Wang et al., Crystallinity improvement of ZnO thin film on different buffer layers grown by MBE". J. Nanaomater. 2012, 1–7 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. S. Shanmugan, O.Z. Yin, P. Anithambigai et al., Analysis of ZnO thin film as thermal interface material for high power light emitting diode application. J. Electron. Packag. 138, 1–6 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  10. N. Jassriatul, S. Shanmugan, D. Mutharasu, Performance of chemical vapor deposited ZnO thin film as thermal interface material on optical properties of LED. Int. J. Res. Eng. 4, 114–118 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  11. M.F. Nabihah, S. Shanmugan, Structural parameter and TEM analysis of beryllium oxide nanoparticles synthesized by polyacrylamide gel route. Dig. J. Nanaomater. Biostruct. 11, 349–356 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  12. M. Rouchdi, E. Salmani, B. Fares et al., Synthesis and characteristics of Mg doped ZnO thin films: Experimental and ab-initio study. Results Phys. 7, 620–627 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Plastic- determination of thermal conuctivity and thermal diffusivity - part 2: transient plane heat source (hot disc) method. (International organisation for standardization ISO 22007 - 2:2015, 2015) (2008). https://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_details.htm?csnumber=40683. Accessed 25 Jan 2019

  14. Data Sheet, "Zinc acetate dihydrate Peer-Reviewed Papers," pp. 3–5 (2020). https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/mm/108802?lang=en&region=MY&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI643DuYfE6AIVzxOPCh0XdwB0EAAYASAAEgKpBfD_BwE. Accessed 5 Mar 2020

  15. K. Vijayalakshmi, K. Karthick, P.D. Raj et al., Influence of thickness of MgO overlayer on the properties of ZnO thin films prepared on c -plane sapphire for H2 sensing. Ceram. Int. 40, 827–833 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. K. Patel, W. Clegg, R.M. Pickard, Optimisation of overlay properties for use in magnetic bubble devices. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 11, 531–537 (1977)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. H. Qinz, L. Xgu, H. Qiz et al., ZnMgO:ZnO composite films for fast electron transport and high charge balance in quantum dot light emitting diodes Opt. Mater. Express 8, 909–918 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. S.K. Evstropiev, I.P. Soshnikov, E.V. Kolobkova et al., Polymer-salt synthesis and characterization of MgO-ZnO ceramic coatings with the high transparency in UV spectral range. Opt. Mater. 82, 81–87 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. A. Singh, A. Vij, D. Kumar et al., Investigation of phase segregation in sol–gel derived ZnMgO thin films. Semicond. Sci. Technol. 28, 1–8 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. H. Qu, X. Yang, Q. Zheng et al., Thermal management technology of high-power light-emitting diodes for automotive headlights. Electron. Express 11, 1–11 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  21. L.W. Qiang, M. Devarajan, S. Shanmugan, Evaluation on high power LED with Cu-Al2O3 thin film as thermal interface material: thermal resistance and optical output analysis. J. Optoelectron. Biomed. Mater. 9, 17–29 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  22. M.A. Eleffendi, L. Yang, P. Agyakwa et al., Quantification of cracked area in thermal path of high-power multi-chip modules using transient thermal impedance measurement. Microelectron. Reliab. 59, 73–83 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. X. Cao, T. Wang, K.D.T. Ngo et al., Characterization of lead-free solder and sintered nano-silver die-attach layers using thermal impedance. IEEE Trans. Comp. Packag. Manuf. Technol. 1, 495–501 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Y. Wu, W. Zheng, L. Lin et al., Colored solar selective absorbing coatings with metal Ti and dielectric AlN multilayer structure. Sol Energy Mater. Sol. 115, 145–150 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Authors would like to acknowledge Nano Optoelectronic laboratory, School of Physics Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang for using their laboratory in carrying out the research. The first author would like to acknowledge Federal College of Education, Kano Nigeria, and TETfund Nigeria for the research scholarship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), 11800, Gelugor, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

    Muhammad Sani Idris & Shanmugan Subramani

  2. Department of Physics, Federal College of Education, Kano, Nigeria

    Muhammad Sani Idris

Authors
  1. Muhammad Sani Idris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shanmugan Subramani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shanmugan Subramani.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all the authors and the research institution, there are no conflicts of interest financially, non-financially, directly, or indirectly related to the research work, the authors, or between the authors and their research institution.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Idris, M.S., Subramani, S. Performance analysis of MgO/ZnO multilayer thin film as heat spreader on Al substrates for high-power LED thermal management applications. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 31, 15976–15990 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-04159-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-04159-z

Search

Navigation