I-Corps: Thermal Interface Materials with Ultrahigh Thermal Conductivity and Superior Conformability for Effective Cooling of Electronic Components

人们对更小、更轻、更高效的电子设备的需求不断增加，以简化我们的日常生活，保护环境，扩大全球教育机会，减少能源消耗。然而，这些设备的过热一直是一个关键问题，它阻碍了现有技术满足该领域的关键应用要求，并阻碍了未来电子设备的必要技术改进，以完全满足个人应用的小尺寸，高功率和高可靠性规格。十多年来，可用于促进设备冷却的材料范围基本没有变化，其性能改进落后于电子应用的进步。该团队开发了一种新材料，可以非常有效地管理热量，从而使电子设备运行得更快、更准确、更可靠。处理高功率处理器、高强度led、汽车电子、电信基础设施和半导体芯片封装的电子行业可以从我们的新技术中显著受益。此外，电池在汽车和家庭电力领域的使用呈指数级增长。过热仍然是影响安全性和限制此类电池性能的关键问题。风能和太阳能等替代发电技术也依赖于强大的电力存储解决方案。所有这些都将通过下一代热管理技术得到加强。该团队寻求将一种新型热界面材料（TIM）商业化，这种材料将用于冷却下一代微处理器、电路和电子设备。电流代TIMs的热性能在电导率值约为80 W/(m.K)时达到峰值。所提出的新材料具有超高导热系数，远远大于250 W/(m.K)。该项目涉及使用软配体功能化的陶瓷纳米片，然后将其电共沉积在金属基体中，创造出柔软柔顺的金属，并保持其高导电性。因此，提出的技术提供了一种混合纳米复合材料，它是金属、陶瓷和有机微观结构的组合。该团队预计，随着对提高能源效率和热管理的需求不断增加，所提出的技术可能会对降低用于冷却目的的能源产生广泛的积极影响，以及其他好处。

There is an increase in demand for smaller, lighter and more efficient electronic devices to simplify our everyday life, protect the environment, expand global access to education and decrease energy consumption. However, overheating in these devices has been a key issue which has prevented existing technology from meeting key application requirements in this space, and has prevented the necessary improvements in technology for future electronic devices to fully meet the small size, high power and high reliability specifications for personal applications. The range of materials available to promote device cooling has been largely unchanged for more than a decade and their performance improvements are lagging behind the advances made in electronics applications. This team has developed a new material, which can manage heat very effectively and as a result enable electronics to operate faster, more accurately and reliably. Electronics industries dealing with high-power processors, high-intensity LEDs, vehicle electronics, telecommunication infrastructure, and semiconductor chip packaging can significantly benefit from our new technology. In addition, the use of batteries in automotive and home-power landscapes is exponentially increasing. Overheating remains a critical issue affecting the safety and limiting the performance of such batteries. Alternative power generation technologies such as wind and solar also rely on robust power storage solutions ? all of which will be enhanced by access to next-generation thermal management technology.This team seeks to commercialize a novel Thermal Interface Material (TIM) which will be useful in cooling next-generation microprocessors, circuits and electronic devices. The thermal performance of current generation TIMs peaks at a conductivity value of approximately 80 W/(m.K). The proposed new material has ultra-high thermal conductivity much greater than 250 W/(m.K). The project involves the use of ceramic nanosheets functionalized with soft ligands, which are then electrocodeposited in a metal matrix, creating a soft and compliant metal which retains its high conductivity. The proposed technology therefore provides a hybrid nanocomposite which is a combination of metallic, ceramic, and organic microstructures. The team expects that as demands for improved energy efficiency and thermal management continue to increase that the proposed technology may have a wide-ranging positive impact on lowering the energy used for cooling purposes, among other benefits.