CHALLENGES FOR SELECTING APPROPRIATE TIM2 MATERIAL FOR CPU

摘要

Current generation central processing units (CPUs) give off ever-increasing amounts of heat in a small and very concentrated area, which can be detrimental to CPU performance. To dissipate generated heat to the external environment, a heatsink with a thermal interface material (TIM2) is mounted on the CPU. However, finding a suitable TIM2 is not simple. Some of the parameters to benchmark TIM2 include thermal conductivity, thermal interface resistance, bond line thickness, conformity and viscosity. This paper presents a case study that focuses on evaluating the thermal performance of various TIM2 materials and other critical parameters which may need further improvement from supplier's side. This paper provides a methodology for selecting and qualifying a potential TIM2 material for various applications including automotive, servers, personal computers and internet of things.