Thermal News recently interviewed Amanda Hartnett regarding thermal management with metal TIM (thermal interface materials). You can read the full article here:
http://www.thermalnews.com/eprints/Indium_0310.html
I really like this interview, so I’m not going to give away the best parts – I want you to read it yourself. I do, however, want to provide a couple teasers to pique your interest. I’m leaving out the especially cool parts…
“Pure indium, used as a solder TIM, delivers a thermal resistance to…”
“Also, it is important to consider the reworkability of an interface material. TIMs such as … are very simple to rework. Others, such as conductive epoxies, can be quite difficult.”
“When I measure the performance of thermal interface materials, I characterize them based on ... This value is typically more valuable than bulk thermal conductivity. For a compressible TIM, the … assumes the actual contact which will be made between the interface material and it’s mating surfaces. This provides a measurement of thermal performance which is as close to real-world per Watt or per cm2 as I can provide without being application-specific.”
Are you still reading this blog? Go read the article!
~Jim