Dispensable thermal gel excels in thin bond line applications

The Chomerics Division of Parker Hannifin Corporation introduces a new thermal interface material for very thin bond lines without compromising performance. THERM-A-GAP GEL 50TBL is a new dispensable thermal gel that provides 5W/m-K bulk thermal conductivity. At a minimum bond line thickness of 0.05mm, the apparent thermal conductivity exceeds 10W/m-K.

With a ‘TBL’ suffix for ‘thin bond line’, the new thermal gel requires no mixing or secondary curing, supporting simple application and the potential to undertake rework. The product delivers a flow rate of 25g/min using a 30cc syringe with a 2.5mm orifice (at 621kPa). Another attribute of the gel is that it needs very low compressive force to conform under assembly pressure, ensuring components, solder joints, and leads experience minimal stresses.

Like all thermal gels from the company, the product carries a formulation that meets today’s high-performance and high-reliability electronic demands while being ideal for automated dispensing machines and field repair situations.

Typical applications for this advanced thermal gel, which provides low thermal impedance and avoids any pump-out effect with temperature changes, include automotive ECUs, telecommunications base stations, consumer electronics, power supplies, semiconductors, LEDs, microprocessors and graphics processors. As a point of note, the material is mainly for thin bond lines and is not generally intended for use as a filler in gaps larger than 0.5mm.

The electrical properties of the gel include 200Vac/mm dielectric strength (Chomerics test method); 1014-Ohmcm volume resistivity (ASTM D257); 7.0 dielectric constant at 1000kHz (ASTM D150); and 0.002 dissipation factor at 1000kHz (Chomerics). RoHS-compliant, the material can operate from -55C to +200C.

The thermal gel is provided in syringe, cartridges and pail containers, offering standard fill volumes from 10cc to 2500cc.