Thermal Interface Materials Thermal Solutions
Thermal Interface Materials, it is vital to have the most suitable interface material to address your your design parameters.
In addition to our standard Interface products, Cooling Source works with a variety of Thermal Interface Material suppliers including Chomerics, Laird, Bergquist, Honeywell and Fujipoly.
Each thermal interface material supplier we work with offers global support for a variety of Thermal Interface Materials.
We can assist you in designing-in the correct interface material for your specific application.
Thermal Grease
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- Excellent thermals, void filling capability and very thin interface, mechanical attachment required, contamination. Typically .001” – 0.002” thick
- Can be silk screened on by the factory but parts need covers to prevent dust and dirt contamination. Typically .001” -.002” thick
Pull Tabs
- Release liner feature which makes assembly much easier, not available on all TIM’s
Single Sided PSA (SSA Single Sided Adhesive, alternative terminology)
- Provides Interface adhered to the heatsink only
- Mechanical fastening of the heatsink is needed i.e push pins, wire clips, band clips, screws, plastic clip, etc. Typically .005 –o.10” thick
- Graphite- Commonly used on AC/DC converters, usually .005” and .10” thick
Double Sided PSA
- Pressure Sensitive Adhesive used to adhere heatsink to the heat source
- Easy to assemble, pull tabs available on most materials
- Need to select a specific tape for mounting surface i.e. metal, plastic, ceramic, silicon, etc. Typically .005 – 0.10” thick
Single Sided PSA (SSA Single Sided Adhesive, alternative terminology)
- Provides Interface adhered to the heatsink only
- Mechanical fastening of the heatsink is needed i.e push pins, wire clips, band clips, screws, plastic clip, etc. Typically .005 –o.10” thick
- Graphite- Commonly used on AC/DC converters, usually .005” and .10” thick
PCM
- Phase Change Material, higher performance TIM that reflows with heat to fill all the interface voids, difficult to apply, usually supplied with a pull tab/release liner. Typically 0.002 -0.004” thick
PCM
- Phase Change Material, higher performance TIM that reflows with heat to fill all the interface voids, difficult to apply, usually supplied with a pull tab/release liner. Typically 0.002 -0.004” thick
Gap Filler
- Typically .200” and thicker pad with some compressibility, used to fill varying gap sized, mechanical fastening is required
Epoxy
- Thermally loaded filler adhesive system, provides permanent and strong mechanical attachment
- Often not favored by assemblers due the possible prep work and inability to rework
