What does the Star PcB do for the LUXEON K2?

[Jbcourt]

Does the Star PCB make the LUXEON K2 get rid of heat or work as a ground?

 

[Gunner12]

Mainly, it makes it easier to install and secure. The best way for ehatsinking would be to solder the LED to the heatsink, the star adds another thermal junction, and I think it is isolated.

:welcome:

 

[tebore]

It just makes the K2 easier to mount and depending on the star makes it so you have an electrically neutral mating surface to your final structure.

The star can also be a heatsink by itself depending on how hard you drive the LED.

However the star will hinder your heatsinking to a bigger heatsink in high power applications.

 

[Chrontius]

Soldering bare emitters is a bit ticklish for people who don't work with LEDs much... especially on things like the Rebel. IAPW, you'd have a large, finned heat sink with the LED held on by arctic silver. In practice, the bigger emitters are getting reasonable to work with without the star board that was originally intended as a heat sink, and the board-as-sink model is proving inadequate with modern drive currents.

 

[Jbcourt]

You guys are awesome! Thank you very much.