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Kemtron has been appointed to distribute the WL Gore Polarchip range of thermal interface materials.
These highly compressible, thermally conductive materials are ideally suited for filling the undesirable air gaps between heat generating devices on PCBs and the heatsinks, heat spreaders, and metal chassis that are used to dissipate the heat.
Gore's new material provides a dramatic improvement over existing thermal gap pads currently on the market because of its level of compressibility and ease of handling.
Polarchip thermal interface materials are fluoropolymer composites that consist of an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) matrix filled with boron nitride (BN) particles.
The low elastic modulus of the ePTFE matrix imparts softness, conformability, and excellent compressibility to the composite, while the high Thermal conductivity of the BN particles gives the composite its good thermal transport characteristics.
The reinforcing nature of the ePTFE matrix results in a composite that is physically robust, easy to handle, and does not require additional reinforcements (such as metal foils, fibreglass carriers etc).
The highly compressive behaviour, physical robustness, and good thermal transport characteristics yields a thermal interface material that is ideal for gap filling applications.
Polarchip is ideal for gap-filling applications where the thickness of the gap is large or variable due to irregular surfaces (roughness, flatness, planarity etc), large tolerance stack-ups, or when contacting multiple devices.
By using this soft, conformable, highly compressible material, contact is ensured between the heat sinks and the hot devices, while minimising the stress placed on the components of the PCB.
Common applications for this material are laptop computers, high-speed telecommunications equipment and wireless infrastructure equipment.
Polarchip CP7003 is recommended for applications that require between 10 and 40% compression, and Polarchip CP8000 is recommended for applications that require greater than 40% compression.
Both materials can be supplied in sheet form or precision die-cuts.
A variety of pressure sensitive Adhesives (PSAs) are available and can be laminated to one side of the thermal interface to facilitate attachment.
The selection of the most appropriate PSA will depend on the performance requirements of the intended application.
Kemtron is also distributing Gore's range of EMI/RFI gasket material (Goreshield).
This complements and enhances Kemtron's existing range of shielding products.
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