Dow Corning, a global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, further expanded its industry-leading portfolio of phenyl silicone optical encapsulants with five new two-part, heat-curable grades. The new products offer enhanced reliability, better anti-silver corrosion and greater durability for LED designs. They also further underscore Dow Corning’s commitment to driving best-in-class improvements in the performance and reliability of solid-state lighting.

Delivering improved anti-silver corrosion capabilities, Dow Corning® OE-6662 and OE-6652 optical encapsulants offer Shore D 64 and Shore D 59 levels of hardness, respectively. The improved gas barrier performance exhibited by both grades helps to protect delicate silver-plated LED electrodes from sulfur attacks. In addition to inhibiting degradation of light output efficiency, this can also help extend the overall quality and lifetime of advanced LED designs.
 
New grades of Dow Corning® OE-7620, OE-7630, OE-7640 optical encapsulants provide hardness ranges from Shore D 26, 29 and 43, respectively. The lower hardness of these materials translates into enhanced mechanical protection for emerging LED packaging designs. In addition, all three new grades in this advanced product family offer greatly improved thermal and photostability over incumbent materials, to ensure consistent high optical quality over the lifetime of an LED light source.

“As next-generation LED designs and applications grow ever more demanding, global lighting OEMs are seeking innovative new material solutions that can withstand the higher internal temperatures of new LEDs, as well as their increasingly harsh operating conditions,” said Kaz Maruyama, global industry director, Dow Corning Lighting Solutions. “The latest additions to Dow Corning’s broad portfolio of optical silicone encapsulants for LEDs deliver the performance and protection necessary to enable advanced lighting designs that provide reliable, high-quality illumination over the course of their expected lifetimes.”

All of Dow Corning’s new high-purity optical encapsulant silicone grades are available globally, and are suitable for conventional dispensing and over-molding processes.