Performance characterization of pressure sensitive adhesive thermal interface materials

An issue often raised by engineers regarding thermal interface materials (TIM) is that vendor data do not match the results obtained from actual applications. Typical reasons for these issues may be vendor variations in testing, such as variances in test procedure and setup. This study compares vendor data from various vendors with results obtained from both realistic and ideal test conditions under consistent test method and uniform test conditions, in order to eliminate any inconsistencies in testing. This current work examines the performance of thermal pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) TIMs, and compares the thermal performance of various materials from several vendors. For comparison to vendor data, testing is performed for flat and non-flat surfaces to examine the differences under ideal condition to that of more realistic in actual applications. The test process, results and observations are discussed.