Abstract:
The need of high performance miniaturized electronic devices to support the requirements of the industry 4.0 has created an increased demand for an efficient thermal management solution for smooth operations of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). The main objective of this research is to enhance the thermal conductivity and viscosity of gallium-based thermal interface material (TIM) by adding tungsten microparticles to make it suitable for use in power electronics application. The gallium was first stirred to improve its wettability followed by addition of tungsten microparticles. After that, it was then passed through sonicator at 40 kHz to ensure equal dispersion of particles. Samples were prepared with three different configurations by concentration of tungsten. Different analytical techniques like Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) were utilized to analyze surface morphology, composition, and topography. Thermal constant analyzer and Boost circuit were used for thermal and electrical characterization respectively. Upon oxidation the Thermal conductivity of Gallium drops from 29.3 W m to 13.1 W m -1 -1 K -1. Our results present that 10 wt.% addition of tungsten can increase the thermal conductivity of gallium back from 13.1 to 22.82 W m -1 K at room temperature which amounts to 74.2% overall increase in thermal conductivity. Also, when tested the material on Boost circuit, it was observed that could further push the frequency of MOSFET IRF3808 up to 20 Hz as compared to conventional TIM. A clear difference was observed between pure Gallium and Thermal interface material in terms of viscosity and fluidity. While gallium was highly fluid in its pure form, the TIM was in a semi solid state and there was no fluidity. During the electrical testing it was observed that the material did not leak out even when the temperatures raised as high as 308 Celsius. Strongly indicating that tungsten can be added to gallium to increase its
thermal conductivity and viscosity and make it suitable to use as TIM for power electronics application.
