Enhancing Thermal Conductivity of Thermal Interface Materials through Aligned Liquid Metal Pillars: A Promising Strategy

This study presents an innovative technique to create an aluminum-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite embedded with liquid metal (LM) pillars, abbreviated as (Al-PDMS-LMP). This method not only allows for customized adjustment of the thermal conductivity of the thermal interface material but also efficiently utilizes the high thermal conductivity advantage of the liquid metal. When the liquid metal content is only 17.53 vol %, the thermal conductivity of the thermal interface material can reach 10.9 Wm–1K–1. Moreover, the addition of LM pillars enhances pad softness, promoting better contact between thermal interfaces and heat dissipation components, thereby improving heat transfer efficiency. The Al-PDMS-LMP materials exhibit exceptional durability, maintaining over 85% thermal performance after 300 times of thermal shock cycles and a chip temperature variation within 1 °C after 1000 power cycles. This method offers a promising solution for enhanced thermal management in electronic devices, enabling tailored conductivity for optimized heat dissipation, consistent performance across varying conditions, and improved reliability. By introducing a small fraction of LM array, the overall thermal conductivity is significantly improved. Therefore, our method achieves higher benefits at a lower cost, which strikes a balance between cost and performance, making it highly valuable for practical applications.