Bimodal sintered silver nanoparticle paste with ultrahigh thermal conductivity and shear strength for high temperature thermal interface material applications

The Effect of Porosity on the Thermal Conductivity of Highly Thermally Conductive Adhesives for Advanced Semiconductor Packages

This study suggests promising candidates as highly thermally conductive adhesives for advanced semiconductor packaging processes such as flip chip ball grid array (fcBGA), flip chip chip scale package (fcCSP), and package on package (PoP). To achieve an extremely high thermal conductivity (TC) of thermally conductive adhesives of around 10 Wm^-1K^-1, several technical methods have been tried. However, there are few ways to achieve such a high TC value except by using spherical aluminum nitride (AlN) and 99.99% purified aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) fillers. Herein, by adapting highly sophisticated blending and dispersion techniques with spherical AlN fillers, the highest TC of 9.83 Wm^-1K^-1 was achieved. However, there were big differences between theoretically calculated TCs that were based on the conventional Bruggeman asymmetric model and experimentally measured TCs due to the presence of voids or pores in the composites. To narrow the gaps between these two TC values, this study also suggests a new experimental model that contains the porosity effect on the effective TC of composites in high filler loading ranges over 80 vol%, which modifies the conventional Bruggeman asymmetric model.

A Micromechanical Analysis to the Viscoplastic Behavior of Sintered Silver Joints under Shear Loading

Ag paste has been recognized as a promising substitute for Sn/Pb solder in SiC or GaN power electronic devices, owing to its ability to withstand high temperatures and facilitate low-temperature packing. The reliability of these high-power circuits is greatly influenced by the mechanical properties of sintered Ag paste. However, there exist substantial voids inside the sintered silver layer after sintering, and the conventional macroscopic constitutive models have certain limitation to describe the shear stress-strain relationship of sintered silver materials. To analyze the void evolution and microstructure of sintered silver, Ag composite pastes composed of micron flake silver and nano-silver particles were prepared. The mechanical behaviors were studied at different temperatures (0-125 °C) and strain rates (1 × 10^-4-1 × 10^-2) for Ag composite pastes. The crystal plastic finite element method (CPFEM) was developed to describe the microstructure evolution and shear behaviors of sintered silver at varied strain rates and ambient temperatures. The model parameters were obtained by fitting experimental shear test data to a representative volume element (RVE) model built on representative volume elements, also known as Voronoi tessellations. The numerical predictions were compared with the experimental data, which showed that the introduced crystal plasticity constitutive model can describe the shear constitutive behavior of a sintered silver specimen with reasonable accuracy.

Low-Temperature Sintering of Ag Composite Pastes with Different Metal Organic Decomposition Additions

Rapid developments in wide-bandgap semiconductors have led to the demand for interconnection materials that can withstand harsh conditions. In this study, novel Ag composite pastes were developed with the assistance of metal organic decomposition (MOD) to significantly reduce the sintering temperature of commercial Ag pastes. The effects of the decomposition characteristics of different MODs on the microstructure, morphology, and the shear strength of the Ag-sintered joints were systematically investigated. Additionally, the low-temperature sintering mechanisms of the MOD-assisted Ag composite pastes were studied and proposed. Among all the MODs studied, the one consisting of propylamine complexed with silver oxalate demonstrated the best performance due to its ability to form Ag nanoclusters with the smallest size (~25 nm) and highest purity (~99.07 wt.%). Notably, the bonding temperature of the MOD-modified Ag pastes decreased from 250 °C to 175 °C, while the shear strength increased from 20 MPa to 40.6 MPa when compared to the commercial Ag pastes.

Recent Advances in Thermal Interface Materials for Thermal Management of High-Power Electronics

With the increased level of integration and miniaturization of modern electronics, high-power density electronics require efficient heat dissipation per unit area. To improve the heat dissipation capability of high-power electronic systems, advanced thermal interface materials (TIMs) with high thermal conductivity and low interfacial thermal resistance are urgently needed in the structural design of advanced electronics. Metal-, carbon- and polymer-based TIMs can reach high thermal conductivity and are promising for heat dissipation in high-power electronics. This review article introduces the heat dissipation models, classification, performances and fabrication methods of advanced TIMs, and provides a summary of the recent research status and developing trends of micro- and nanoscale TIMs used for heat dissipation in high-power electronics.

D-Mannitol/Graphene Phase-Change Composites with Structured Conformation and Thermal Pathways Allow Durable Solar-Thermal-Electric Conversion and Electricity Output

Durable electricity generation from a phase-change material (PCM)-assisted solar thermoelectric generator (STEG) through photo-thermal-electric conversion is a promising way to take advantage of the clean solar energy. However, due to the deficient and mismatched thermal charging and discharging rates in the PCMs, the previous PCM-supported STEGs usually exhibit inefficient solar-thermal-electric conversion (<1%) and limited electricity output. In this work, we report a structured D-mannitol/graphene phase-change composite fabricated by a radial ice-template assembly and infiltration strategy, in which radially aligned graphene nanoplates are bridged by graphitized polyimide that offers multidirectional and interlaced thermal highways for rapid thermal charging, while the sample conformation is further regulated by the ice-template mold, promising the optimal charging and discharging balance in the PCM. After being integrated with a solar concentrator and a thermoelectric device, this powerful STEG outputs tremendous power density, with the solar-thermal-electric conversion approaching 2.40%. The plenteous electricity supply is demonstrated to reliably charge a mobile phone under normal sunlight. This elaborate STEG design opens up opportunities for providing sufficient power guarantees for the self-powering of electronic devices in the wild.

Effectiveness of Oxygen during Sintering of Silver Thin Films Derived by Nanoparticle Ink

Silver nanoparticle (NP) inks have been widely used in the ink-jet printing field because of their excellent properties during low-temperature sintering. However, the organic dispersant used to prevent the aggregation and sedimentation of NPs can hinder the sintering process and result in the high resistivity of sintered films. In this study, silver thin films derived from silver NP ink with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) dispersant were sintered in different atmospheres of pure nitrogen, air, and pure oxygen. The effect of the oxygen content in the sintering atmosphere on the thermal properties of the ink, the electrical resistivity and microstructure of the sintered films, and the amount of organic residue were studied by using differential scanning calorimetry, the four-point probe method, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, etc. The mechanism of optimizing the film resistivity by influencing the decomposition of the PVP dispersant and the microstructure evolution of the silver thin films through the sintering atmosphere was discussed. The results demonstrated that an oxygen-containing atmosphere could be effective for silver NPs in two ways. First, the oxygen content could enhance the diffusion ability of silver atoms, thus accelerating the stage transition of microstructural evolution at low temperatures. Second, the oxygen content could enable the PVP to decompose at a temperature much lower than in conditions of pure nitrogen, thus helping to finalize the densification of a silver film with a low resistivity of 2.47 μΩ·cm, which is approximately 1.5-fold that of bulk silver. Our findings could serve as a foundation for the subsequent establishment of ink-jet printing equipment and the optimization of the sintering process for printing silver patterns on flexible substrates.

Simulation and Experimental Study of the Multisized Silver Nanoparticles Sintering Process Based on Molecular Dynamics

Multisized nanoparticles (MPs) are widely employed as electronic materials to form conductive patterns, benefitting from their excellent sintering properties and mechanical reliability. However, due to the lack of effective detection methods for the real-time sintering process, it is difficult to reveal the sintering behavior during the MPs sintering process. In this work, a molecular dynamics method is used to track the trajectory of silver atoms. The melting behavior of a single nanoparticle (SP) is first discussed. The structural evolution of equally sized nanoparticles (EPs) and unequally sized nanoparticles (UPs) during the sintering process is analyzed alongside morphology changes. It is proposed that the UPs sintering process benefits from the wetting behavior of small-sized nanoparticles on the surface of large-sized nanoparticles, and the sintering angle (θ) is proposed as an index to estimate the sintering result of UPs. Based on the works above, three basic sintering modes and one advanced sintering mode in the MP sintering process are analyzed emphatically in this paper, and the roles of different-sized nanoparticles in MPs are concluded from simulation and experimental results. This work provides theoretical support for conductive ink composition design and sintering process optimization.

Understanding the relationship between particle size and ultrasonic treatment during the synthesis of metal nanoparticles

Ultrasonic treatment is an effective method for size refinement and dispersion of nanomaterials during their synthesis process. However, the quantitative relationship between ultrasonic conditions and particle size in the synthesis of metal nanoparticles has not been fully revealed. In this study, Cu nanoparticles were synthesized via the wet-chemical redox method under ultrasonic treatment, and statistical analysis on the evolution of particle size distribution was carried out. It was found that the particle size decreased exponentially with increasing ultrasonic power. A quantitative model was then proposed to describe the influence of ultrasonic power on the size distribution of metal nanoparticles from the perspective of the competition between the surface energy and the ultrasonic force. A relational expression of R_c∝γ⁴⁷P^-37 was revealed, and it was proved to fit well with the experimental results. Our study provides new experimental basis and theoretical method for understanding the mechanism of ultrasonic-induced size refinement of metal nanoparticles.

Thermally and photoinduced structural and chemical changes of a silver nanocube array on Au(111)

We have investigated the thermally and photoinduced structural and chemical changes of a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-covered silver nanocube (AgNC) array on Au(111). The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method was utilized to fabricate the highly ordered array of the AgNC monolayer on Au(111). In the Raman spectra obtained at room temperature, sharp vibrational peaks were observed owing to the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect of AgNCs. When AgNCs were annealed, their corners became rounded, followed by their height decrease and lateral expansion. Simultaneously, PVP decomposed into nanocarbons, which were eliminated from the gap between AgNCs. Further annealing AgNCs/Au(111) resulted in obvious decreases in Raman signal intensity and AgNC height due to the sintering of AgNCs. We also confirmed the photochemical transformation of PVP to nanocarbons without the deformation of AgNCs when an intense laser was irradiated on the AgNC surface.

3D Lamellar-Structured Graphene Aerogels for Thermal Interface Composites with High Through-Plane Thermal Conductivity and Fracture Toughness

HIGHLIGHTS

Lamellar-structured graphene aerogels with vertically aligned and closely stacked high-quality graphene lamellae are fabricated. The superior thermally conductive capacity of the aerogel endows epoxy with a high through-plane thermal conductivity of 20.0 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ at 2.30 vol% of graphene content. The nacre-like structure endows the epoxy composite with enhanced fracture toughness.

ABSTRACT

Although thermally conductive graphene sheets are efficient in enhancing in-plane thermal conductivities of polymers, the resulting nanocomposites usually exhibit low through-plane thermal conductivities, limiting their application as thermal interface materials. Herein, lamellar-structured polyamic acid salt/graphene oxide (PAAS/GO) hybrid aerogels are constructed by bidirectional freezing of PAAS/GO suspension followed by lyophilization. Subsequently, PAAS monomers are polymerized to polyimide (PI), while GO is converted to thermally reduced graphene oxide (RGO) during thermal annealing at 300 °C. Final graphitization at 2800 °C converts PI to graphitized carbon with the inductive effect of RGO, and simultaneously, RGO is thermally reduced and healed to high-quality graphene. Consequently, lamellar-structured graphene aerogels with superior through-plane thermal conduction capacity are fabricated for the first time, and its superior through-plane thermal conduction capacity results from its vertically aligned and closely stacked high-quality graphene lamellae. After vacuum-assisted impregnation with epoxy, the resultant epoxy composite with 2.30 vol% of graphene exhibits an outstanding through-plane thermal conductivity of as high as 20.0 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹, 100 times of that of epoxy, with a record-high specific thermal conductivity enhancement of 4310%. Furthermore, the lamellar-structured graphene aerogel endows epoxy with a high fracture toughness, ~ 1.71 times of that of epoxy. [Image: see text]

ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

The online version of this article (10.1007/s40820-020-00548-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Sintering Mechanism of a Supersaturated Ag-Cu Nanoalloy Film for Power Electronic Packaging

Ag-Cu bimetallic nanoparticles, combining the advantages of both Ag and Cu, are a promising material for power electronic packaging. In this work, a supersaturated Ag-7.3 wt % Cu alloy nanoparticle film was developed by using pulsed laser deposition. Unlike Cu nanoparticles, the supersaturated Ag-Cu alloy nanoparticles can conduct bonding in air without the assistance of a reduction agent. The shear strength was >20 MPa when the bonding temperature reached 300 °C, which was above the die shear standard (MIL-STD-883 K, 7.8 MPa) and compatible with the typical die attach process. The Cu separating behavior was accompanied by the bonding process at 250-400 °C, which was discussed systematically. Neck formation was delayed to about 250 °C because of the hindering effect of the thin oxide shell of the Ag-Cu alloy. The necking networks provide volume diffusion paths despite the growth of surface oxide, resulting in compact densification. The bondline under the SiC die consisted of a porous Ag-Cu alloy matrix with a dispersed secondary phase of Cu₂O/CuO, which is supposed to have improved electrochemical migration resistance.

Reactivity and Chemical Sintering of Carey Lea Silver Nanoparticles

Carey Lea silver hydrosol is a rare example of very concentrated colloidal solutions produced with citrate as only protective ligands, and prospective for a wide range of applications, whose properties have been insufficiently studied up to now. Herein, the reactivity of the immobilized silver nanoparticles toward oxidation, sulfidation, and sintering upon their interaction with hydrogen peroxide, sulfide ions, and chlorocomplexes of Au(III), Pd(II), and Pt(IV) was investigated using SEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The reactions decreased the number of carboxylic groups of the citrate-derived capping and promoted coalescence of 7 nm Ag NPs into about 40 nm ones, excluding the interaction with hydrogen peroxide. The increased nanoparticles form loose submicrometer aggregates in the case of sulfide treatment, raspberry-like micrometer porous particles in the media containing Pd(II) chloride, and densely sintered particles in the reaction with inert H₂PtCl₆ complexes, probably via the formation of surface Ag-Pt alloys. The exposure of Ag NPs to HAuCl₄ solution produced compact Ag films along with nanocrystals of Au metal and minor Ag and AgCl. The results are promising for chemical ambient temperature sintering and rendering silver-based nanomaterials, for example, for flexible electronics, catalysis, and other applications.

Ag-NPs/MWCNT composite-modified silver-epoxy paste with improved thermal conductivity

Heat dissipation is a critical issue in high-performance electronics, which needs to be solved, and an electronic paste is a good choice to solve this issue. In this paper, silver nanoparticles/multi-walled carbon nanotube (Ag-NPs/MWCNT) composites were prepared by the chemical process for the modification of electronic pastes. The micromorphology and spectral analysis of the as-prepared Ag-NPs/MWCNT composites indicated that Ag-NPs were uniformly distributed on the MWCNT surfaces with high distribution densities; the average size of Ag-NPs was estimated to be 8.29 nm. The as-obtained Ag-NPs/MWCNT composites were then added to a silver-epoxy paste. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermogravimetry (TG) and thermal conductivity analyses suggested the incorporation of Ag-NPs/MWCNT composites in the silver-epoxy paste; Ag flakes were better connected by Ag-NPs/MWCNTs, which improved the thermal conductivity of the paste from 0.73 to 0.96 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹. However, more weight loss was observed when Ag-NPs/MWCNTs were incorporated in the silver-epoxy paste. Overall, the addition of Ag-NPs/MWCNTs into the silver-epoxy paste increased the thermal conductivity, which can be applied to high-performance electronics.

Heat dissipation is a critical issue in high-performance electronics, which needs to be solved, and an electronic paste is a good choice to solve this issue.

Ambient Aqueous-Phase Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles and Nanopastes with Low-Temperature Sintering and Ultra-High Bonding Abilities

Copper nanoparticles (NPs) with an average particle diameter of 50–60 nm were successfully obtained by reducing an aqueous solution of a copper(II)-nitrilotriacetic acid complex with an aqueous hydrazine solution at room temperature under an air atmosphere. Copper NP-based nanopastes were printed onto a glass substrate using a metal screen mask and pressureless sintered under a nitrogen atmosphere at 200 °C for 30 min. The electrical resistivity of the resulting copper electrode was 16 μΩ · cm. For a metal-to-metal bonding test, copper nanopaste was printed on an oxygen-free copper plate, another oxygen-free copper plate was placed on top, and the bonding strength between the copper plates when pressureless sintered under a nitrogen atmosphere at 200 °C for 30 min was 39 MPa. TEM observations confirmed that highly crystalline metal bonding occurred between the copper NPs and the copper plate to introduce the ultrahigh strength. The developed copper NPs could provide promising advances as nanopastes for sustainable fabrication of copper electrodes and die attachment materials for the production of next-generation power semiconductors.

Flexible transparent conducting films with embedded silver networks composed of bimodal-sized nanoparticles for heater application

A facile one-pot synthetic method for preparing the Ag nanoparticle inks with a bimodal size distribution was newly devised and they were successfully employed as a conducting filler to form the metal-mesh type transparent conducting electrodes on the flexible substrate. Bimodal-sized Ag nanoparticles were synthesized through the polyol process, and their size variation was occurred via finely tuned composition ratio between Ag⁺ ions and polymeric capping agents. The prepared bimodal-sized Ag nanoparticles exhibited the form of well-dispersed Ag nanoparticle inks without adding any dispersants and dispersion process. By filling the patterned micro-channels engraved on the flexible polymer substrate using a bimodal-sized Ag nanoparticle ink, a metal-mesh type transparent electrode (transmittance: 90% at 550 nm, haze: 1.5, area: 8 × 8 cm²) was fabricated. By applying DC voltage to the mesh type electrode, a flexible transparent joule heater was successfully achieved with a performance of 4.5 °C s^-1 heat-up rate at a low input power density.

Vertically Aligned High-Quality Graphene Foams for Anisotropically Conductive Polymer Composites with Ultrahigh Through-Plane Thermal Conductivities

Although graphene-based thermal interface materials (TIMs) have great potentials in removing excess heat generated during highly efficient running of electronic devices, their practical applications are usually limited by their unsatisfactory thermal conductions, which are mainly caused by unsatisfactory dispersion and distribution, low loading, and low quality of graphene sheets, as well as the thermal interfacial resistance between graphene sheets and polymer matrix. Herein, we develop vertically aligned graphene hybrid foams (GHFs) with high densities by hydrothermal reduction of graphene oxide in the presence of high-quality graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) followed by air-drying. The reduced graphene oxide sheets play an important role in constructing a vertically aligned interconnection network for accommodating GNPs during the hydrothermal reduction process, while the incorporated GNPs not only make the thermal conductance network denser but also prevent excessive shrinkage of the foams during air-drying. More critically, graphitization of GHF at 2800 °C removes the residual oxygen-containing groups and heals the defects of their reduced graphene oxide component, leading to high-quality graphene foams. The resultant vertically aligned high-quality graphene porous architecture with high density as an ideal thermal conductance network of TIMs is highly efficient in improving the thermal conductivity of its epoxy composite, which exhibits an ultrahigh through-plane thermal conductivity of 35.5 W m^-1 K^-1 at a graphene loading of 19.0 vol %. The excellent thermally conductive performance makes the annealed GHF/epoxy composites suitable for the thermal management.

Enhanced thermal conductivity and flame retardancy of polyamide 6/flame retardant composites with hexagonal boron nitride

High performance composite of polyamide 6 (PA6)/flame retardant (FR)/hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) was prepared via twin screw extrusion, followed by injection molding. The heat dissipation of the composite was significantly improved by incorporating 40 vol% of hBN, and the corresponding thermal conductivity was up to 5.701 W/(m·K), nearly 17 times that of the PA6/FR composites. In addition, the combination effect of hBN and FR to the flame retardancy of the composites was observed, and the addition of hBN could dramatically enhance the flame retardancy of composites, achieving a UL94 V-0 rating with a limited oxygen index (LOI) value of 37%. This multifunctional modification would broaden the application field of PA6 composites in light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, electronic products, and so on.

Thermal conductivity analysis and applications of nanocellulose materials

In this review, we summarize the recent progress in thermal conductivity analysis of nanocellulose materials called cellulose nanopapers, and compare them with polymeric materials, including neat polymers, composites, and traditional paper. It is important to individually measure the in-plane and through-plane heat-conducting properties of two-dimensional planar materials, so steady-state and non-equilibrium methods, in particular the laser spot periodic heating radiation thermometry method, are reviewed. The structural dependency of cellulose nanopaper on thermal conduction is described in terms of the crystallite size effect, fibre orientation, and interfacial thermal resistance between fibres and small pores. The novel applications of cellulose as thermally conductive transparent materials and thermal-guiding materials are also discussed.

Expedited Phonon Transfer in Interfacially Constrained Polymer Chain along Self-Organized Amino Acid Crystals

In this work, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/amino acid (AA) composites were prepared by a self-organized crystallization process. Five different AAs (cysteine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, ornithine, and lysine) were selected based on their similar functional groups but different molecular structures. The different PVA-AA interactions in the five PVA/AA composites lead to two crystal patterns, i.e., continuous network (cysteine and lysine) and discrete particles (glutamic acid, ornithine, and aspartic acid). Scanning thermal microscopy is then applied to map the distribution of thermal conduction in these composites. It is found that the interface surrounding the crystals plays a dominating role in phonon transport where the polymer chains are greatly restrained by the interfacial confinement effect. Continuous crystal network builds up a continuous interface that facilitates phonon transfer while phonon scattering occurs in discrete crystalline structures. Significantly improved thermal conductivity of ∼0.7 W/m·K is observed in PVA/cysteine composite with AA loading of 8.4 wt %, which corresponds to a 170% enhancement as compared to pure PVA. The strong PVA-AA molecular interaction and self-organized crystal structure are considered the major reasons for the unique interface property and superior thermal conductivity.

One-Step Fabrication of 3D Nanohierarchical Nickel Nanomace Array To Sinter with Silver NPs and the Interfacial Analysis

Three-dimensional (3D) nanohierarchical Ni nanomace (Ni NM) array was fabricated on copper substrate by only one step with electroplating method, the unique structure was covered with Au film (Ni/Au NM) without changing its morphology, and in the following step, it was sintered with silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) paste. The structure of the Ni NM array and its surface morphology were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and atomic force microscope. The sintered interface was investigated by SEM, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to analyze the sintering mechanism. The results showed that a metallurgical bond was successfully achieved at 250 °C without any gas or vacuum shield and extra pressure. The Cu substrate with Ni/Au NM array was able to join with the Ag NP paste without obvious voids. Due to the compatible chemical potential between Ag NPs and Ni/Au NM array, the Au element was able to diffuse into the Ag layer with about 800 nm distance. Based on the excellent 3D nanohierarchical structure, the shear strength of Ni/Au NM array was 6 times stronger than the flat Ni/Au coated substrate. It turned out that the substrate surface played a crucial role in improving the shear strength and sintering efficiency. The 3D Ni NM array had achieved an excellent bonding interface and had great potential application in the microelectronics packaging field.

Highly Conductive Cu-Cu Joint Formation by Low-Temperature Sintering of Formic Acid-Treated Cu Nanoparticles

Highly conductive Cu-Cu interconnections of SiC die with Ti/Ni/Cu metallization and direct bonded copper substrate for high-power semiconductor devices are achieved by the low-temperature sintering of Cu nanoparticles with a formic acid treatment. The Cu-Cu joints formed via a long-range sintering process exhibited good electrical conductivity and high strength. When sintered at 260 °C, the Cu nanoparticle layer exhibited a low resistivity of 5.65 μΩ·cm and the joints displayed a high shear strength of 43.4 MPa. When sintered at 320 °C, the resistivity decreased to 3.16 μΩ·cm and the shear strength increased to 51.7 MPa. The microstructure analysis demonstrated that the formation of Cu-Cu joints was realized by metallurgical bonding at the contact interface between the Cu pad and the sintered Cu nanoparticle layer, and the densely sintered layer was composed of polycrystals with a size of hundreds of nanometers. In addition, high-density twins were found in the interior of the sintered layer, which contributed to the improvement of the performance of the Cu-Cu joints. This bonding technology is suitable for high-power devices operating under high temperatures.

Interfacial Engineering of Silicon Carbide Nanowire/Cellulose Microcrystal Paper toward High Thermal Conductivity

Polymer composites with high thermal conductivity have attracted much attention, along with the rapid development of electronic devices toward higher speed and better performance. However, high interfacial thermal resistance between fillers and matrix or between fillers and fillers has been one of the primary bottlenecks for the effective thermal conduction in polymer composites. Herein, we report on engineering interfacial structure of silicon carbide nanowire/cellulose microcrystal paper by generating silver nanostructures. We show that silver nanoparticle-deposited silicon carbide nanowires as fillers can effectively enhance the thermal conductivity of the matrix. The in-plane thermal conductivity of the resultant composite paper reaches as high as 34.0 W/m K, which is one order magnitude higher than that of conventional polymer composites. Fitting the measured thermal conductivity with theoretical models qualitatively demonstrates that silver nanoparticles bring the lower interfacial thermal resistances both at silicon carbide nanowire/cellulose microcrystal and silicon carbide nanowire/silicon carbide nanowire interfaces. This interfacial engineering approach provides a powerful tool for sophisticated fabrication of high-performance thermal-management materials.

Paving the Thermal Highway with Self-Organized Nanocrystals in Transparent Polymer Composites

Phonon transfer is greatly scattered in traditional polymer composites due to the unpaired phonon frequency at the polymer/filler interface. A key innovation of this work is to build continuous crystal network by self-organization and utilize it as "thermal highway" that circumvents the long-existing interfacial thermal barrier issue in traditional composites. By tuning the molecular diffusion rate of dicarboxylic acids (oxalic acid, malonic acid, and succinic acid), different crystal structures including skeletal, dendrite, diffusion-limited aggregates, and spherulite were synthesized in PVA film. These continuous crystal structures benefit the efficient phonon transfer in the composites with minimized interfacial scattering and lead to a significant thermal conductivity enhancement of up to 180% compared to that of pure polymer. Moreover, the transparent feature of these composite films provides additional benefits in display applications. The post heat treatment effect on the thermal conductivity of the composite films shows a time-dependent behavior. These uniquely structured polymer/crystal composites are expected to generate significant impacts in thermal management applications.

Ultrahigh Thermal Conductivity of Interface Materials by Silver-Functionalized Carbon Nanotube Phonon Conduits

An ultrahigh thermal conductivity (κ = 160 W m(-1) K(-1) ) of thermal interface materials is achieved with a high enhancement factor (96). A small amount (2.3 vol%) of 1D multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with high κ constructs effective phonon transport pathways between microscale silver-flake islands, and a solid phonon transport junction is realized by the coalescence of silver nanoparticles pre-functionalized on the MWNTs.

Highly Thermally Conductive Composite Papers Prepared Based on the Thought of Bioinspired Engineering

The rapid development of modern electronics and three-dimensional integration sets stringent requirements for efficient heat removal of thermal-management materials to ensure the long lifetime of the electronics. However, conventional polymer composites that have been used widely as thermal-management materials suffer from undesired thermal conductivity lower than 10 W m(-1) K(-1). In this work, we report a novel thermally conductive composite paper based on the thought of bioinspired engineering. The advantage of the bioinspired papers over conventional composites lies in that they possess a very high in-plane thermal conductivity up to 21.7 W m(-1) K(-1) along with good mechanical properties and high electrical insulation. We attribute the high thermal conductivity to the improved interfacial interaction between assembled components through the introduction of silver nanoparticles and the oriented structure based on boron nitride nanosheets and silicon carbide nanowires. This thought based on bioinspired engineering provides a creative opportunity for design and fabrication of novel thermally conductive materials, and this kind of composite paper has potential applications in powerful integrated microelectronics.

Fast formation and growth of high-density Sn whiskers in Mg/Sn-based solder/Mg joints by ultrasonic-assisted soldering: Phenomena, mechanism and prevention

A universally applicable method for promoting the fast formation and growth of high-density Sn whiskers on solders was developed by fabricating Mg/Sn-based solder/Mg joints using ultrasonic-assisted soldering at 250 °C for 6 s and then subjected to thermal aging at 25 °C for 7 d. The results showed that the use of the ultrasonic-assisted soldering could produce the supersaturated dissolution of Mg in the liquid Sn and lead to the existence of two forms of Mg in Sn after solidification. Moreover, the formation and growth of the high-density whiskers were facilitated by the specific contributions of both of the Mg forms in the solid Sn. Specifically, interstitial Mg can provide the persistent driving force for Sn whisker growth, whereas the Mg2Sn phase can increase the formation probability of Sn whiskers. In addition, we presented that the formation and growth of Sn whiskers in the Sn-based solders can be significantly restricted by a small amount of Zn addition (≥3 wt.%), and the prevention mechanisms are attributed to the segregation of Zn atoms at grain or phase boundaries and the formation of the lamellar-type Zn-rich structures in the solder.

Sintering mechanism of the Cu–Ag core–shell nanoparticle paste at low temperature in ambient air

Cu–Ag core–shell nanoparticles owned good anti-oxidation ability, and as-fabricated joints using the Cu–Ag core–shell nanoparticles paste showed high shear strength.

Zero-dimensional to three-dimensional nanojoining: current status and potential applications

As devices have become smaller, nanomaterials have become the preferred manufacturing building blocks due to lower material and joining energy costs. This review surveys progress in nanojoining methods, as compared to conventional joining processes.