Thermal Management Improvements for Transmit/Receive Modules

The aim of the proposal is to develop and demonstrate a novel thermal management system with superior heat transfer performance for the high heat flux, high power radio frequency (RF) electronic systems used in today's military applications. This new thermal bonding and sealing technology will improve thermal heat conduction from high power microcircuits to their heat sink by using diamond nanoparticle paste and will have the added benefits of being a high electrical resistivity and being hydrophilic. Our design will improve the RF electronic system reliability and will be compatible with current manufacturing processes. ACTA's thermal interface material (TIM) uses a diamond nanoparticles paste to improve heat transfer and will be able to accommodate large differences in thermal expansion between the electronic part and the heat sink.