LIGHT-EMITTING ELEMENT LIGHT SOURCE AND TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THEREFOR
The present invention provides a light-emitting element light source comprising a system for sensing, and optionally managing, an operating temperature of the light source. In general, the light source comprises one or more light-emitting elements, which may be arranged in one or more groups, one or more arrays or one or more clusters thereof, operatively mounted to respective and/or common substrates. The one or more substrates each generally comprise circuitry operatively coupling the light-emitting element(s) mounted thereto to a light source driving mechanism configured to impart a drive current to the light-emitting element(s). The substrate(s) also comprises one or more thermal probes configured to thermally couple one or more respective and/or combinations of selected light-emitting elements to one or more temperature sensing elements such that an operating temperature of the selected light-emitting element(s) may be sensed, monitored, and optionally controlled in order to maintain desirable light source operating and/or output characteristics.