Nanomaterials for Thermal Management of Electronics

As electronic packaging densities increase, more heat is being generated per unit area. The reliability of electronic components is, therefore, increasingly dependent on the ability to transfer heat. Current chip performance is limited in keeping up with the increased power densities, 30% of which is attributed to packaging materials. The disadvantages of current methods of fabrication of thermal management materials like W-Cu and Mo-Cu include segregation of copper - lakes and pools of copper in the matrix, primarily caused by blending inhomogeneity. This Phase I effort will be directed towards engineering of high thermal conductivity nanocomposites which will be compatible with the electronic semiconductor materials in terms of CTE's (5-9 ppm/xC). Sono-gel processing will be used to coat nanopowders of graphite and molybdenum with copper to improve bending homogeneity and result in dispersion of copper at the submicron level. The coated nanopowders will be consolidated into bulk materials (through Ultra-High Pressure Sintering allowing minimal grain growth, limiting porosity and resulting in better mechanical properties, high thermal conductivity and predictable CTE's. Phase II will involve extensive testing of prototype heat sinks fabricated from these composites, in collaboration with our industrial partner, Spectramat, Inc., paving the way for their commercialization.