For the design of the next generation of microelectronic packages, thermal management is one of the key aspects and must be met by the development of polymers with enhanced thermal conductivity. While all polymer classes show a very low thermal conductivity, this shortcoming can be compensated for by the addition of fillers, yielding polymer-based composite materials with high thermal conductivity. The inorganic fillers, however, are often available only in submicron- and micron-scaled dimensions and, consequently, can sediment during the curing reaction of the polymer matrix. In this study, an epoxy/amine resin was filled with nano- and submicron-scaled alumina particles, yielding a gradient composite. It was found that the thermal conductivity according to laser flash analysis of a sliced specimen ranged from 0.25 to 0.45 W·m-1·K-1 at room temperature. If the thermal conductivity of an uncut specimen was measured with a guarded heat flow meter, the 'averaged' thermal conductivity was measured to be only 0.25 W·m-1·K-1. Finite element analysis revealed that the heat dissipation through a gradient composite was of intermediate speed in comparison with homogeneous composites exhibiting a non-gradient thermal conductivity of 0.25 and 0.45 W·m-1·K-1.
Keywords: alumina particles; epoxy/amine resin; gradient composite; thermal conductivity; thermal management.