When we communicated with customers, we found that most of them did not know how to judge or select a thermal gap pad to satisfy desgin requirement. When they received instructions from engineers, they just transferred information to suppliers, but didn’t know detail about thermal pad.

Here are some tips for selecting thermal gap pad.

Thermal conductivity. some purchasing officers or engineers will say”I need a thermal gap pad with high thermal conductivity, the higher the better.” Yes, a thermal pad with high thermal conductivity will provide higher thermal performance. but it causes other problems.

Firstly, the cost of thermal pad with high thermal conductivity is higher, because more thermally conductive particles will be filled in to carrier, and the batching is more complicated. So a thermal pad with proper thermal performance satisfying the desgin and performing stable is enough.

Secondly, thermal impedance. Many customers will just request a higher thermal performance and never notice other parameters, such as thermal impedance. Actually, it is a vital factor to thermal performance, high thermal impedance is detrimental to heat transfer, it makes heat transfer unefficient. A professional engineer will notice thermal conductivity and thermal impedance first.

Thirdly, hardness and cpmpression. A low hardness thermal gap pad provides high compression, filling gaps and voids more easily, making interface contact perfect. Also it deflects under low pressure, decreasing  strain on components thus decreasing component failures.

Above suggestions are for your primary review about thermal gap pad, furthermore, you shoud provide specific requirements and discuss with supplier.

If you are looking for thermal management materials, please contact GLPOLY for detail.