Temperature Sensing Characteristics and Long Term Stability of Power LEDs Used for Voltage vs. Junction Temperature Measurements and Related Procedure

A detailed study about the direct measurement of junction temperature Ti of off-the-shelf power light emitting diodes (LED) is presented. The linear dependence on temperature of the voltage drop across the device terminals at a constant current is in particular exploited and fully characterized, in the temperature range from T = 35 °C to 135 °C, with tests repeated at one thousand different probe currents. The accurate experimental data, obtained on several LED samples bearing two different part numbers, are reported, showing that they exhibit a high degree of linearity in wide current ranges, a circumstance that allows for a fast and reliable calibration as sensors. The measurement error is also fully characterized in terms of repeatability and stability over time, with measurements repeated after 600, 900, 1200 and 1800 hours of applied electro-thermal stress, demonstrating that the relevant sensor parameters stabilize after a few hundred hours of operation. A full set of parameters is provided for the two device models, allowing the direct use of each LED for the self-monitoring of the junction temperature and ensure compliance with their safe operating area over time. Moreover, a procedure and a simple circuit for the real time measurement of Ti, while the LED is on, are presented. The procedure does not require a stable current source, and relies instead on the application of a sub-threshold current ramp for such a short time that the change in the output light is not perceived by human eyes.