Thermal Interface materials

Phase change, Thermal Gap & Putty pads, Thermal Grease & Insulators

Available online via Caplinq.com

Thermal Interface Materials

Thermal Interface Materials, often abbreviated and TIM materials, are used to dissipate heat as quickly and effectively as possible from the device. But not all devices are the same. Requirements are driven by product use, product life cycle, packaging design, and operating conditions. Smartphones and tablets experience sudden temperature spikes, requiring very high thermal performance, while power electronics in automobiles need extreme thermal stability to meet warranties that stretch over long lifetimes.

That’s why our products optimize thermal impedance. This means that we look at the entire thermal path, not just the thermal interface material itself. This includes the material interfaces, the thermal expansion of the joining interfaces, contact resistance and bond line thicknesses.Moreover, all products are technically reworkable, some easier than others. Our portfolio of materials is designed to dissipate heat away from the IC, in an appropriate way for the device structure, packaging design and application.

The design of Honeywell’s portfolio of phase change materials (PCMs) is driven by an innovative polymer technology and advanced filler system, which can be customized to fit diverse product applications and end uses.In addition to our phase change materials, we offer a variety of products with high thermal conductivity and high compressibility, including thermal gap pads, Thermal Hybrid, thermal grease, thermal insulators, and more. Are you working with optical switches, high Gs and need pluggable thermal interface materials? We are already developing and qualifing variable pluggable TIMS. Contact us for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have a quick Overview of all your Thermal interface materials?

The following table serves as a "single glance" Product selector guide for our entire Thermal interface material catalogue. Each entry links you to the category or the product itself where you can find extensive and useful information and the full product specifications along with the available Technical and Safety Datasheets.

Thermal Interface Materials
APPLICATION CATEGORIES PRODUCTS KEY FEATURES THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY (W/m·K)
High Reliability Thin Bondline Phase Change Materials LTM6300-SP Paste Only 1.8-2.4
PCM45F-SP High Reliability 2.0-2.5
PTM5000 High Reliability 3.5-4.5
PTM5000-SP Stencil printable 3.5-4.5
PTM6000 High Reliability 3.5-4.5
PTM6000HV High Viscosity, IGBT printing 5.2
PTM7000 Low TI, High Reliability, Pad form 6.5
PTM7000-SP Stencil printable 6.5
PTM7000-SPS Stencil printable with Slow drying time 6.5
PTM7900 Balanced solution, Pad form 8.0
PTM7900-SP Stencil printable 8.0
PTM7950 High end Phase change, Pad form 8.5
PTM7950-SPS Stencil print, Slow drying time 8.5
High Compressibility Gap Filler Thermal Gap Pads TGP1200 Cost Effectiveness 1.2
TGP1500 Cost Effectiveness 1.5
TGP3000 Low Hardness 3
TGP5000 Low Hardness 5
TGP6000 Low Oil Bleeding 6
TGP8000 Low Oil Bleeding, Low Outgassing, Low Hardness 8
TGP8000HV High Breakdown Voltage 8
Thermal Putty Pads TGP3500PT Extra Soft 3.5
TGP6000PT Extra Soft 6
TGP8000PT Extra Soft 8
Thermal Conductivity Electrical Isolation Thermal Insulators TIP1500 High Breakdown Voltage 1.5
TIP3500 High Breakdown Voltage 3.5
Ease of Application
Ultra-Thin Bondline (
Thermal Grease TG2000I Cost Effectiveness, Electrical Isolation 2
TG2800I Cost Effectiveness, Electrical Isolation 2.8
TG3000 Cost Effectiveness 3
TG3000I Cost Effectiveness, Electrical Isolation 3
TG4000 High TC, Low TI 4
TG5500 High TC, Low TI 5.5
Automation Gap Filler One-Part Hybrid HT3500 Cost Effectiveness 3.5
HT4500 Printable, Thermally stable 4.5
HT5010 Pre-cure, Low Oil Bleeding 5
HT7000 Pre-cure, Low Oil Bleeding 7
HT9000 Pre-cure, Low Oil Bleeding 9
HT10000 Pre-cure, Low Oil Bleeding 10
Automation Gap Filler Two-Part Hybrid HLT2000 Cost Effectiveness 2
HLT2000LV Low Volatility 2
HLT3000 Stencil print, No moisture absorption 3
HLT3500 Cost Effectiveness 3.5
HLT7000 High Reliability, Easy to Dispense 7
HLT10000 High Reliability, Easy to Dispense 10

 


Learn More

 
 Introduction

Thermal interface materials

The modern electronics industry is constantly advancing toward higher power consumption and more integrated functions and miniaturization, resulting in a sharp increase in the power density of modern electronic devices. In fact, we have entered the era of 5G.

Therefore, efficient heat dissipation has become an even more critical requirement for the design of modern electronic packages. Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are widely employed to manufacture the most critical parts in the heat dissipation system, to cool and protect integrated circuit (IC) chips.

Honeywell TIMs are based on proprietary technologies of polymer matrices and thermally conductive fillers, enabling them to handle challenging heat dissipation issues with long-term reliability and low cost of ownership.



thermal interface materials
 
how to use thermal interface materials

Thermal Performance

Increasing power densities are raising device temperatures — requiring more effective TIM solutions that must deliver low thermal impedance and high bulk conductivity. Reducing operating temperature can reduce device throttling, while increasing efficiency and design flexibility.

Product Life Cycle & Reliability

Mobile products such as tablets and smartphones have a relatively short product life, but still require thermal management to protect from extreme and sudden bursts of energy and temperature spikes. Conversely, automotive, power and server products must remain robust for significantly longer product life cycles.

These applications involve harsh operating conditions such as extreme heat and humidity, which must be taken into account in choosing the best TIM material. The key requirement in these applications is not just immediate performance but also sustained, long-term thermal stability

 
 

Gaps & Bondline Thickness

IC designers are continually looking for ways to achieve more processing power in less space. Additionally, high power devices with dedicated heat sinks aim to achieve an extremely thin TIM bond line with low thermal impedance and a reduced thermal path. To add to the complexity, chip-scale packages assembled on a PC board will share the same heat spreader but will have different heights with varying gaps, requiring a TIM that delivers both thermal and compressible properties. Taking all this into consideration, it is important for today’s TIMs to provide effective thermal management in increasingly constrained environments and different assembly designs.

tims with thin bondline thickness

 

 
 Product Selection Guide
 
Having a hard time deciding where you should start? Use this handy decision-making steps to select the properties that are most important to your application.

1. Applications 

What are the most proven applications? You could quickly find the most common application scenarios of each TIM, which means they are widely applied in those industries.
thermal interface material applications

2. Bondline Thickness

Dimensions matter a lot! The space between the component and heat sink is very small, from microns to millimeters. Honeywell TIMs provide various materials with different bondline thickness for your applications.
thermal interface material comparison chart

3. Automatically or manually?

Do you want to automatically apply your TIMs, including stencil printing and dispensing? The liquid version TIMs are a good choice in this case, such as phase change material SP version, hybrid and thermal grease.

Thermal interface material being applied manually or by automatic process

4. Thermal Performance 

Increasing power densities are raising device temperatures — requiring more effective TIM solutions that must deliver low thermal impedance and high bulk conductivity. Sometimes excellent dielectric properties are also required, such as high breakdown voltage.
TIM comparison chart

5.  Reliability and other features

Some applications involve harsh operating conditions such as extreme heat and humidity, which must be taken into account in choosing the best TIM material. Various key features of TIMs suit for different application scenarios, which not only achieve immediate performance but also sustained, long-term thermal stability.
 
  Thin Bond Line Materials (0.07mm~0.1mm) Gap Filler Materials (0.1mm~5mm)
Key Features Phase Change Materials Thermal Greases Thermal Gap Pads Thermal Putty Pads One-part Hybrid Two-Part Hybrid
Silicone-Free
Reliability Excellent Medium Excellent Excellent Medium Excellent
Comformability Excellent Excellent Medium Excellent Excellent Excellent
Printable/Dispensable
Single Process
Temperature Range <125°C <200°C <200°C <200°C <200°C <200°C
Pros
  • Conformable
  • Highest reliability
  • Silicone-free
  • Clean and efficient 
  • Less costly
  • conformable
  • Screen printable
  • Easy application
  • Vibration dampening
  • Vertical reliability
  • Easy application
  • High compressibility
  • Low surface impedance
  • Pre-cured
  • Support dispensing and assembling separately
  • RT storage
  • High dispensing rate
  • High reliability
  • Vertical assembly Okay
  • RT storage
Cons
  • Spring pressure required
  • Initial heat cycle required
  • Limist temperature range
  • Prone to pump out/dry out
  • Messy
  • Less conformable
    • Minimum thickness 0.2mm
  •  No recovery
  • Minimum thickness 0.5mm
  • Slump causes vertical reliability concerns
  • Crack & slump risk after thermal cycling
  • Requires post dispensing curing     
  • Not good for re-work
  • Filler & silicone separation risk                   

 

Thermal Management Solution Fundamentals