Carbon nanotube arrays for coupled electromagnetic and thermal management in high power electronics: Influence of microstructuration and stress investigated by IR thermography

Multifunctional and multistructured materials are currently developed for high power electronics in transportation and aerospace sectors requiring size and weight reduction. In this work, we investigate laser-machined micro patterns of CNT brushes as an alternative to metallic structures for driving simultaneously EM and heat propagation. The thermal response of the CNT array is observed to be sensitive to the microstructured pattern etched in the CNT brush, and to the mechanical stress induced by an incident air flux. Depending on the induced displacement of nanotubes, a temperature change up to 5°C is measured. The movement of the CNT within the array is correlated to the mechanical stress imposed by the incident air flux. The correlation between thermal fluctuation and air flux is indeed assessed through the proper combination of SEM and interferometry imaging with thermography.