Thermo Physical Properties of Copper/Diamond Composites Fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering

In modern electronic devices overheating has become a critical issue due to high power density and improved performance. In order to overcome this critical issue, the demands for materials having high thermal conductivity with low and tailorable coefficient of thermal expansions are required. This demand can be fulfilled by synthesizing copper/diamond composites, which show excellent thermo-physical properties, compatible with semiconductors and can be used in heat sink and thermal management applications. Copper/Diamond composites were fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering Method (SPS) by electrolessly copper coated diamond particles pre coated with 1wt% Chromium. The prepared composites were investigated for various properties like thermal conductivity, thermal expansion and characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (S.E.M) and X-ray diffraction (X.R.D) analyses. The effect of process parameters were also taken into account. Thermal conductivity of copper/diamond composites fabricated by SPS at 1100°C under pressure of 40MPa, obtained in this case was 400 W/m•K , which is quite higher than those heat sink materials being already in use.