In the last 30 years, it has been truly exciting to watch the growth of the LED market and how it has ingrained itself into our daily lives. What we know as LED lights are in fact light emitting diodes. Today’s LEDs are among the world’s smallest light sources. LEDs are found everywhere. In applications ranging from mobile phones, wrist watches, 4K & 8K televisions, computer monitors, bar code scanners, streetlights, all the way up to the mammoth displays found in today’s stadiums.
The LED industry has paralleled the growth of the integrated circuit, simply by the ever-increasing demand for smaller and more complex devices. Modern LEDs use significantly less energy than incandescent lights, generate less heat, have smaller footprints, offer faster switching, and normally last 100X longer than a comparable incandescent light. An average LED light bulb will not have to be changed for 20 years.
LED lights are manufactured using semiconductor technology. Color temperature, brightness and efficiency are all engineered into the product. This is realized by controlling the materials used. “Doping” is the name of process which adds specific materials to a substrate (wafer), in exacting layers. The layering process is known as “epitaxial deposition”. By introducing specific materials (doping), in very thin layers, (epitaxial deposition) the “color” emitted by an LED is defined by the materials used. A typical 100mm wafer can yield over 100,000 LED chips (depending on the size of the actual LED). Modern LED manufacturing equipment follows a very strict process and guidelines. The results are consistent yields and predicable quality.
Key High offers problem solving components for LED manufacturing. Key High’s “SPV” series (Slow Pump Valve Series) reduce turbulence within a vacuum system by incorporating two valves in one valve body. Initially the small BYPASS VALVE is opened allowing the pump down cycle to commence. Once an appropriate pressure is achieved, the parent valve is then opened allowing full speed pumping. The “SPV” series valves are intended to reduce turbulence during initial pump down cycle, thereby protecting sensitive substrates from particulate issues.
