THERMAL PROPERTIES OF PACKAGING MATERIALS RESEARCHED

Exhibiting at July’s Partnerships 2004, an industry and educational conference hosted annually by Materials and Manufacturing Ontario (MMO), mechanical engineering student Ashim Banik said the results of the research will provide electronics manufacturers with specific thermal resistance information upon which they can make their choice of materials.
“An experimental program is planned for testing of nine commercially available silicone and non-silicone based compounds under four different roughnesses and under various loads,” Banik said. A series of preliminary experiments have already been performed using Dow Corning 340 grease to investigate repeatable techniques. Fur-ther investigation is on going to develop an efficient method to measure the micro-level bond line thickness to report conductivity.
“Thermal resistance across an interface formed by two surfaces is significant as this type of joint between the heat source and heat sink is very common in microelectronic packages,” Banik said. “This joint resistance is a function of several thermal, mechanical and geometric parameters such as roughness, flatness, micro hardness, contact pressure, conductivity of the contacting solids and the properties of the interstitial materials. Using a thermal interface material (TIM) between the two substrates is an effective way to enhance the heat removal process.”
This year’s conference drew more than 1,000 delegates and 260 exhibitors.
“Partnerships is about growth and the continual building of networks between industry and post-secondary researchers,” said Geoff Clarke, MMO’s managing director. “In today’s global economy, knowledge is as important as physical capital, financial capital, and natural resources as a source of economic growth. Making progress in the global marketplace requires strong, effective partnerships between organizations and institutions from all sectors and fields.”