Characterization of microstructure and properties in the evaluation of alloys for thermal interface contact

Abstract

The present project aims to investigate a known gap in the literature concerning alloys for thermal interface applications. It is the purpose of the project to study optimization techniques through solidification in order to design the microstructure and appropriate application properties such as mechanical and corrosion resistances of alloys for thermal interfaces applied for heat dissipation, which are part of materials known as TIM (Thermal Interface Materials). The need of electronic devices of increasingly processing capability implies in increase of heat release, thus requiring the search for efficient and Pb-free TIM alloys. Along the thermal joint production, the TIM alloys are placed over a substrate and solidify under high cooling rates and transient heat flow conditions. Besides a good thermal contact between the alloy and the substrates, adequate mechanical and corrosion resistances are required in order to preserve the long-term integrity bond of the components. In this sense, in addition to the wetting tests of the alloys over different substrates used by the electronics industry, mechanical (tensile and hardness) and corrosion tests will be carried out. Furthermore, the application of a theoretical-experimental approach in order to determine the heat transfer coefficient at the alloy/substrate interface zone, with a view to permiting its correlation with the alloy wettability, and the characterization of intermetallics formed due to the metallurgical interaction at the TIM/substrate interface are also envisaged. (AU)