At present, one of the key challenges in the light-emitting diode (LED) packaging technology is light extraction due to the difference in index of refraction between LED chip and air. Silicone nanocomposites have been extensively researched for applications in LED encapsulant to reduce such difference in refractive index. It is well-known that silicone is desirable for LED encapsulant because of its optical transparency and photothermal resistance. However, not much has been accomplished to leverage the elastic properties of silicone for enabling a stretchable LED encapsulant. In this work, I aim to investigate the stretch ability of silicone/zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposites for LED packaging. Wurtzite ZnO nanoparticles were prepared in colloids and subjected to silane treatment. Effects of both ex situ and in situ silane treatment on the final mechanical and optical properties of the silicone/ZnO nanocomposites were examined. Silicone/ZnO nanocomposites exhibit significantly more compliant stress-strain behavior than silicone control. In particular, silicone/silane-treated ZnO nanocomposites show more serrated stress-strain curves. They also embrace higher transmittance than silicone/unmodified ZnO nanocomposites, indicating an improvement in the dispersion of the nanoparticles. It was found that the silicone/5% silane-treated ZnO nanocomposite prepared by an in situ method was able to deform over a range of up to 160%. The film made of this unique silicone/ZnO nanocomposite (~40 microns thick) exhibits transmittance >70% throughout the visible range.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:GATECH/oai:smartech.gatech.edu:1853/52120 |
| Date | 08 August 2014 |
| Creators | Zhao, Xueying |
| Contributors | Wong, Ching-Ping |
| Publisher | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Source Sets | Georgia Tech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Undergraduate Research Option Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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