A team of engineers at Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) has shown how to grow carbon nanotube forests on the surfaces of computer chips in order to enable the heat flow at a critical point where the chips connect to heat sinks. The carbon nanotubes were grown using a technique called microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition - a low-cost method for manufacturing a thermal-interface material made of carbon nanotubes. Conventional thermal interface materials include greases, waxes, and a foil made of a metal called indium. All of these materials, however, have drawbacks. For example, the greases don't last many cycles when testing chips on the assembly line more than once and the indium foil doesn't make good enough contact for optimum heat transfer.
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