GRAPHITE REINFORCED MAGNESIUM FOR MATCHING THE THERMAL EXPANSION OF ALUMINA

GRAPHITE FIBER REINFORCED MAGNESIUM COMPOSITES WILL BE DESIGNED TO MATCH THE THERMAL EXPANSION OF ALUMINA FOR USE AS SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR ALUMINA CHIP CARRIERS. COMPOSITES WILL BE FABRICATED BY AT LEAST TWO DIFFERENT METHODS. FIBER VOLUME AND FIBER MODULUS WILL BE TREATED AS CONTROLLED VARIABLES. TESTING WILL EMPHASIZE THERMAL EXPANSION AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES. THE PERCENT OF RULE-OF-MIXTURES PROPERTIES ATTAINED WILL BE DETERMINED THROUGH CAREFUL TRACEABILITY. PROPERTY COMPARISONS WILL BE MADE BETWEEN GRAPHITE-MAGNESIUM AND OTHER METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES. COST ESTIMATES WILL BE MADE RELATIVE TO VARIOUS PRODUCTION LEVELS. THE BASIS WILL BE ESTABLISHED FOR DEFINING AN OPTIMUM COMPOSITE CONSISTENT WITH PERFORMANCE/COST TRADEOFFS.