Synthesis of dispensable PDMS/Al2O3/GO thermal gap filler and performance comparison with commercial thermal gap fillers for electronics packaging applications

In response to the critical needs of high power density, advanced thermal gap fillers (TGF) are required for the long-term reliability of electronics packaging. In this study, dispensable thermal gap filler (Al87GO6) with 87 wt.% Al2O3, 6 wt.% graphene oxide and 7 wt.% polymers were fabricated as two parts (Part A and Part B). The thermal conductivity of cured Al87GO6 (3.87 W/m.K) was 1.03, 1.11 and 1.24 times higher than commercially available thermal gap fillers TGF A, TGF B and TGF C, respectively. Part A and Part B components of Al87GO6 TGF exhibit a higher plateau value of zero shear viscosity. The lightweight graphene oxide has significantly reduced Al87GO6 TGF's density by ~30–48%. The dielectric constant of Al87GO6 TGF was around ~6–17% lower than commercial TGF. Hence, the fabricated Al87GO6 TGF can be used as an alternative TGF for efficient heat dissipation.