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Today's smaller, more powerful electronic devices, communications equipment, and lighting apparatus required optimum heat dissipation solutions. Traditionally, metals are widely known for their superior thermal conductivity; however, their good electrical conductivity has limited their applications in heat management components for microelectronic applications. This prompts the requirement to develop novel plastic composites that satisfy multifunctional requirements thermally, electrically, and mechanically. Furthermore, the moldability of polymer composites would make them ideal for manufacturing three-dimensional, net-shape enclosures and/or heat management assembly. Using polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) as the matrix, heat transfer networks were developed and structured by embedding hexagonal boron nitride (BN) alone, blending BN fillers of different shapes and sizes, as well as hybridizing BN fillers with carbonaceous nano- and micro-fillers. Parametric studies were conducted to elucidate the effects of types, shapes, sizes, and hybridization of fillers on the composite's thermal and electrical properties. The use of hybrid fillers, with optimized material formulations, was found to effectively promote a composite's thermal conductivity. This was achieved by optimizing the development of an interconnected thermal conductive network through structuring hybrid fillers with appropriate shapes and sizes. The thermal conductive composite affords unique opportunities to injection mold three-dimensional, net-shape microelectronic enclosures with superior heat dissipation performance. more...

Designers of electronic devices and telecommunications equipment have used three-dimensional chip architecture, comprised of a vertically integrated stack of chips, to increase the number of transistors on integrated circuits. These latest chips generate excessive amount of heat, and thus can reach unacceptably high temperatures. In this context, this research aims to develop thermally conductive liquid crystal polymer (LCP)/hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) composite films to replace the traditionally-used Kapton films that satisfy the electrical insulation requirements for the attachment of heat sinks to the chips without compromising the heat dissipation performance. Parametric study was conducted to elucidate the effects of hBN contents on the heat dissipation ability of the composite. The performance of the hybrid heat sinks were experimentally simulated by measuring the temperature distribution of the hybrid heat sinks attached to a 10 W square-faced (i.e., 10 cm by 10 cm) heater. Experimental simulation show that the maximum temperature of the heater mounted with a hybrid heat sink reduced with increased hBN content. It is believed the fibrillation of LCP matrix leads to highly ordered structure, promoting heat dissipation ability of the electrically insulating pad of the hybrid heat sink. more...