Recent progress of thermal interface material research - an overview

Liu, J.; Michel, Bruno; Rencz, M.; Tantolin, C.; Sarno, C.; Miessner, R.; Schuett, K.-V.; Tang, X.-M.; Demoustier, S.; Ziaei, A.

doi:10.1109/therminic.2008.4669900

Cited by 31 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…The thermal interface resistance can be decreased by increasing the bulk thermal conductivity of the TIM, reducing the BLT or reducing the contact resistance between the chip and heat sink27. Current commercially available thermal interface materials provide R TIM in the range 0.1–0.4°C*cm 2 /W373839, whereas it is anticipated that in the future, electronic packaging will require R TIM in the range 0.05–0.01°C*cm 2 /W and a BLT in the range 10–50 μm. Based on a BLT = 20 μm, the required bulk thermal conductivity should be > 4 W/m*K which is in the range of the measured in-plane thermal conductivity of GNP based TIMs, but much higher than the current through-plane values.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anisotropic Thermal and Electrical Properties of Thin Thermal Interface Layers of Graphite Nanoplatelet-Based Composites

Tian

Itkis

Bekyarova

et al. 2013

Sci Rep

145

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Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are crucial components of high density electronics and the high thermal conductivity of graphite makes this material an attractive candidate for such applications. We report an investigation of the in-plane and through-plane electrical and thermal conductivities of thin thermal interface layers of graphite nanoplatelet (GNP) based composites. The in-plane electrical conductivity exceeds its through-plane counterpart by three orders of magnitude, whereas the ratio of the thermal conductivities is about 5. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that the anisotropy in the transport properties is due to the in-plane alignment of the GNPs which occurs during the formation of the thermal interface layer. Because the alignment in the thermal interface layer suppresses the through-plane component of the thermal conductivity, the anisotropy strongly degrades the performance of GNP-based composites in the geometry required for typical thermal management applications and must be taken into account in the development of GNP-based TIMs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anisotropic Thermal and Electrical Properties of Thin Thermal Interface Layers of Graphite Nanoplatelet-Based Composites

Tian

Itkis

Bekyarova

et al. 2013

Sci Rep

145

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“…1 These thermal issues have spawned a global effort towards the development of novel TIMs with complex formulation and very high performance. [2][3][4] To work effectively in the emerging thermal environment, TIMs must conform to the mating surfaces under reasonable assembly pressures, have a thin bond line, and have low contact resistance with adequate bulk thermal conductivity. As TIM technology evolves, this combination of factors makes accurate quantification of the thermal characteristics of new generation materials difficult, as some of the most important quantities that need to be measured are dropping to levels below the uncertainty floor of conventional measurement methodologies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A high-precision apparatus for the characterization of thermal interface materials

Kempers

Kolodner²,

Lyons³

et al. 2009

Review of Scientific Instruments

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An apparatus has been designed and constructed to characterize thermal interface materials with unprecedented precision and sensitivity. The design of the apparatus is based upon a popular implementation of ASTM D5470 where well-characterized meter bars are used to extrapolate surface temperatures and measure heat flux through the sample under test. Measurements of thermal resistance, effective thermal conductivity, and electrical resistance can be made simultaneously as functions of pressure or sample thickness. This apparatus is unique in that it takes advantage of small, well-calibrated thermistors for precise temperature measurements ͑Ϯ0.001 K͒ and incorporates simultaneous measurement of electrical resistance of the sample. By employing precision thermometry, low heater powers and minimal temperature gradients are maintained through the meter bars, thereby reducing uncertainties due to heat leakage and changes in meter-bar thermal conductivity. Careful implementation of instrumentation to measure thickness and force also contributes to a low overall uncertainty. Finally, a robust error analysis provides uncertainties for all measured and calculated quantities. Baseline tests were performed to demonstrate the sensitivity and precision of the apparatus by measuring the contact resistance of the meter bars in contact with each other as representative low specific thermal resistance cases. A minimum specific thermal resistance of 4.68ϫ 10 −6 m 2 K / W was measured with an uncertainty of 2.7% using a heat transfer rate of 16.8 W. Additionally, example measurements performed on a commercially available graphite thermal interface material demonstrate the relationship between thermal and electrical contact resistance. These measurements further demonstrate repeatability in measured effective thermal conductivity of approximately 1%.

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“…Many different TIMs are commercially available that attempt to meet these requirements in different ways. These include a range of adhesives, greases, elastomeric pads, phase-change, carbon, and nano-structured materials [1][2][3]. However, the main weakness of many commercially available TIMs is their relatively poor thennal performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling and Experimental Characterization of Metal Microtextured Thermal Interface Materials

Kempers

Lyons

Robinson

2013

Journal of Heat Transfer

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A metal mierotextured thermal interface material (MMT-TIM) has been proposed to address some of the shortcomings of conventional TIMs. These materials consist of arrays of small-scale metal features that plastically deform when compressed hetu'een mating surfaces, conforming to the surface asperities of the contacting bodies and resulting in a low-thermal resistance assembly. The present work details the development of an accurate thermal model to predict the thermal resistance and effective thermal conductivity of the assembly (including contact and bulk thermal properties) as the MMT-TlMs undergo large plastic deformations. The main challenge of characterizing the thermal contact resistance of these structures was addressed by employing a numerical model to characterize the bulk thermal resistance and estimate the contribution of thermal contact resistance. Furthermore, a correlation that relates electrical and thermal contact resistance for these MMT-TIMs was developed that adequately predicted MMT-TIM properties for several different geometries. A comparison to a commercially available graphite TIM is made as well as suggestions for optimizing future MMT-TIM designs.

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Recent progress of thermal interface material research - an overview

Cited by 31 publications

References 73 publications

Anisotropic Thermal and Electrical Properties of Thin Thermal Interface Layers of Graphite Nanoplatelet-Based Composites

Anisotropic Thermal and Electrical Properties of Thin Thermal Interface Layers of Graphite Nanoplatelet-Based Composites

A high-precision apparatus for the characterization of thermal interface materials

Modeling and Experimental Characterization of Metal Microtextured Thermal Interface Materials

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