Dow has introduced a one-part, thermally conductive gel with excellent wetting properties, developed to conduct heat from electronic components with high power density.

Supplied as a non-flowable gel, the DOWSIL™ TC-3065 Thermal Gel is a soft, stress relieving and shock damping silicone gel with a thermal conductivity of 6.5 W/m-K. It supports auto-dispensing, with an extrusion rate of 60 g/m and bond line thickness as thin as 150 µm when high pressure is applied.

The gel completely fills uneven spaces and resists slumping during vertical assembly. It can replace fabricated elastomeric thermal pads, accommodating higher part-to-part tolerances that can challenge the constrained dimensions of fabricated thermal pads.

The DOWSIL TC-3065 is cured with heat after assembly, by applying 100°C for 30 minutes, 80°C for 60 minutes — even cured by the heat generated by the component. After curing, the gel has ultra-low levels of volatile organic compounds and no silicone oil bleeding, which eliminates any contamination of device surfaces that can degrade performance.

If rework is required, the TC-3065 gel can be removed completely without leaving a residue after curing.

At room temperature, the working time or open time for the gel is generally five days, which reduces scrap rates during electronic assembly.

The TC-3065 gel resists humidity and other harsh environments and will not crack during long-term aging. It balances adhesion with re-workability to support high reliability applications.

The gel can be dispensed onto substrates such as aluminum heat sinks and encapsulated chips with an epoxy surface. Example applications for the new material include 5G radios, optical transceivers, Ethernet switches and routers, high speed solid-state disks.

“Thermal interface materials for 5G technologies need to quickly dissipate high amounts of heat, and electronics manufacturers also need advanced material solutions that support sustainability and efficient assembly,” said Samuel Liu, marketing manager and communication segment leader at Dow.

The DOWSIL TC-3065 Thermal Gel is available worldwide through Dow and its network of distribution partners.