Nanomaterials Construction

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The thickness and density of the CNT array within the mat (sheet) can be changed to match the heat dissipation needs of hot spots. This TIM solution minimizes the thermal resistance between two solid surfaces, and can be useful for any applications requiring very high thermal dissipation by joining two solid surfaces. The single materials system encompasses the following features: high bulk thermal conductivity close to theoretical limit of a composite containing CNTs, readily deformable surfaces to form intimate contacts with solid surfaces of varying topological and roughness features, variable thickness that can be minimized to a few microns, mechanical robustness that meets the requirement for easy processing and application of TIM, as well as long term stability for thermal cycling, and high chemical stability for environmental and manufacturing friendliness. In contrast to typical TIM materials used in production today such as thermal greases and adhesives and low melt point solders such as Indium alloys with thermal conductivity in the 3 to 80 W/mK range, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) may theoretically conduct (bulk) between 6,000-8,000 W/mk. However, actual performance has been much lower due to low conductance at the interfaces between TIMs and solid surfaces.