Thermal properties of TIM using CNTs forest in electronics packaging

Thermal interface material (TIM) is applied to fill the air gaps of interfaces, which provides a path for interfacial heat transfer. Owing to the exceptional thermal properties of carbon nanotubes (CNT), TIMs based on CNTs have received much attention in recent years. In this study, heat dissipation performance of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNT) arrays as TIM in electronic packing was analyzed. Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes with length of 245µm and 763µm were synthesized on a silicon substrate by chemical vapor deposition respectively. Morphology of the vertically aligned carbon nanotubes was characterized by scanning electron microscope. The hotspot temperature of thermal test chip with vertically aligned carbon nanotubes were characterized by resistance temperature detector method and infrared imaging method.