Dow Corning News
Contact:
Mirella Kimpen
Dow Corning Electronics Solutions
mirella.kimpen@dowcorning.com
+32.64.888.413 (Europe/Global)
Aaron Wood
AH&M Marketing Communications
awood@ahminc.com
+1.413.448.2260, Extension 470 (The Americas/Global)
Date:
April 23, 2013
Dow Corning Sees Projected Global Growth of LED Lighting Linked
to Adoption of Advanced Optical Silicones
Midland, Mich. – The global LED market's average compound annual growth will be as high
as 33 percent through 2016, according to analyst firm McKinsey & Company. Dow Corning – a
global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation – expects that much of that
growth will be contingent on the adoption of more advanced materials technologies. While
conventional LED materials enabled the start-up and initial development of the industry, higher
performing products such as silicones can help solid-state lighting meet more challenging
performance requirements for fast-growing applications like streetlights, office illumination
and architectural lighting.
“Dow Corning’s global lighting customers are concerned that emerging LED applications are
quickly pushing conventional LED materials – such as glass, epoxies and plastics – to their
practical limits,” said Eric Peeters, vice president of Dow Corning Electronic Solutions.
“Consequently, as designs of LEDs and LED lamps and luminaires rapidly become more
sophisticated, optical silicone technology is generating tremendous interest from OEMs along
the entire LED value chain and opening new horizons of reliability and applications.”
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Four major industry-wide LED trends that are fueling this interest in silicone innovation
include:
 ..............................................................................................................................................
he drive toward higher efficiency - Although LEDs are among the most efficient of all
light sources, the market is continuously pushing toward higher and higher efficiency
products. Offering advanced optical performance and superior moldability vs. traditional
materials, silicones provide exceptional clarity and new design possibilities for primary and
secondary optics that squeeze more lumens out of every watt.
 ..............................................................................................................................................
ising LED temperatures - As designers are increasing the amount of driving current in
LEDs and are decreasing the overall size of the lighting fixture, the operating temperatures
for emerging LEDs are approaching 150°C and higher. Such temperatures can cause
conventional epoxies and plastics to turn yellow and physically degrade over time. In
contrast, silicones have demonstrated reliable optical and physical performance at
temperatures reaching 200°C and higher, which helps ensure next-generation LED sources
can meet and exceed the lumen maintenance requirements of today’s most challenging
lighting applications.
 ..............................................................................................................................................
emand for more design flexibility - While conventional glass, polycarbonate and acrylic
products were adequate for early LED designs, many new lighting applications are calling
for architectures that are difficult to fabricate with traditional materials. The unique
mechanical properties of silicone materials are driving broad new design possibilities for
secondary optics, light pipes, light guides, white reflecting parts and remote phosphor
components. The superior moldability of silicones enables LED architectures with more
complex shapes, micro-scale optical structures, undercuts and thinner wall configurations
that would be difficult or impossible to fabricate with either organic polymers or glass.
– Page 2 of 6 –
– Page 3 of 6 –
 ..............................................................................................................................................
ower costs - As LED manufacturers seek to deliver more lumens per dollar, many are
looking to optical silicones to help minimize their products’ total cost of ownership through
improved performance and processing. More easily molded than glass or plastics, silicones
offer unique options for consolidation of mechanical and optical LED, helping to reduce
assembly operations. Plus, their lower molding temperature translates into lower energy
consumption during LED manufacture. Lastly, the thermal and optical stability of silicones
combined with their strong resistance to UV, chemicals and impact helps ensure LED light
sources deliver consistent, reliable, high-quality illumination over the lifetime of the device
“None of these emerging application demands represent a showstopper for the next-generation
of LED lighting designs. But the next wave of breakthrough solutions will only occur through
close collaboration between designers, manufacturers and materials developers,” said Peeters.
“Dow Corning owes its leadership position in this industry to its history of collaborative
innovation, and its commitment to developing customer solutions that meet their most
challenging application demands and help them compete and succeed.”
About Dow Corning
Dow Corning (dowcorning.com) provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse
needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicones, silicon-based
technology and innovation, Dow Corning offers more than 7,000 products and services via the
company’s Dow Corning® and XIAMETER® brands. Dow Corning is equally owned by The
Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning’s annual
sales are outside the United States. Dow Corning’s global operations adhere to the American
Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care ® initiative, a stringent set of standards designed to
advance the safe and secure management of chemical products and processes.
###
®
Dow Corning is a registered trademark of Dow Corning Corporation.
®
XIAMETER is a registered trademark of Dow Corning Corporation.
®
Responsible Care is a registered service mark of the American Chemistry Council, Inc.
®
LIGHTFAIR is a registered trademark of the International Association of Lighting Designers,
– Page 4 of 6 –
Ltd.
– Page 5 of 6 –
Dow Corning Sees Projected Global Growth of LED Lighting Linked
to Adoption of Advanced Optical Silicones
Please include under published image: Courtesy of Dow Corning.
CAPTION: The global LED market's average compound annual growth will be as high as 33
percent through 2016, according to analyst firm McKinsey & Company. Dow Corning – a
global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation – expects that much of that
growth will be contingent on the adoption of more advanced materials technologies. While
conventional LED materials enabled the start-up and initial development of the industry, higher
performing products such as silicones can help solid-state lighting meet more challenging
performance requirements for fast-growing applications like streetlights, office illumination
and architectural lighting.
– Page 6 of 6 –