EXPERIMENTALLY MEASURING THERMAL INTERFACE MATERIAL BASED ON ASTM D5470 THERMAL TESTER

Abstract Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) play an important role in the thermal management of electronic packages, essential for maintaining the reliability and performance of electronic devices. As electronic components continue to shrink in size while increasing in power, the heat generated per unit area has risen significantly, presenting a critical challenge for thermal management solutions. This experiment focuses on the evaluation and characterization of various TIMs, including greases, and phase change materials, in their effectiveness at enhancing heat transfer between electronic components and their heat sinks. Experimental methods are employed to measure the thermal resistance and conductivity of selected TIMs, and the results are compared for those on manufacturer. In this experiment, a thermal interface material tester is developed based on the ASTM-D5470 standard test for thermal property testing of TIMs. thermal contact resistance values are plotted against variable interface thicknesses and the resulting model is used to extrapolate the resistance at an industry standard interface thickness of 0.1mm. The model resulted in a thermal resistance of 0. 292 𝑐𝑚2𝑘/W and a thermal conductivity of 3.64 W/mK.