COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES

THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE IS TO DEFINE THE POTENTIAL FOR USE OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN NAVY ELECTRONIC DEVICES. METAL, CARBON, CERAMIC AND ORGANIC MATRIX COMPOSITES WILL BE PROCURED AND WILL BE EVALUATED BASED ON THERMAL EXPANSION, THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY, STIFFNESS, HEAT CAPACITY, DENSITY, AND COST. PARTICULAR EMPHASIS IS ON THE USE OF GRAPHITE FIBERS WITH EXTREMELY HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY (UP TO 3 TIMES THAT OF COPPER), AN EXCEEDINGLY HIGH SPECIFIC STIFFNESS AND A NEGATIVE COEFFICIENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION WHICH LEADS TO TAILORING OF THE COMPOSITE TO MATCH THERMAL EXPANSION OF CERAMICS OR OTHER LOW THERMAL EXPANSION MATERIALS. APPLICATIONS TO BE STUDIES WILL INCLUDE DIMENSIONALLY STABLE THERMAL COLUMNS, REINFORCED DIELECTRIC AND REINFORCED METALS WITH A THERMAL EXPANSION MATCH FOR CERAMIC CHIP CARRIERS. COST ESTIMATES WILL BE MADE RELATIVE TO VARIOUS COMPOSITE PRODUCTION LEVELS. THE BASIS WILL BE ESTABLISHED FOR DEFINING OPTIMUM COMPOSITE DESIGNS FOR SPECIFIC DEVICE REQUIREMENTS CONSISTENT WITH PERFORMANCE/COST TRADEOFFS.