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Roadmap towards new generation liquid metal thermal interface materials

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Abstract

As electronic devices continue to evolve toward miniaturization and integration, traditional thermal interface materials (TIMs) are no longer able to meet the ever-tougher thermal management challenges. Owing to their high thermal conductivity and excellent conformability within a highly confined space, liquid metals have great potential for advanced thermal management in various cutting-edge devices and have become a key candidate for next-generation high-performance TIMs. In addition to already known materials, such as liquid metal alloy TIMs, particle-filled liquid metal TIMs, and liquid metal-filled TIMs, more TIMs are still being developed. This review presents a systematic classification of the liquid metal TIMs developed thus far, interprets the fundamental mechanisms underlying material innovation and in-situ heat transfer enhancement, and comparatively evaluates their respective advantages and shortcomings. Subsequently, a series of representative theoretical models for characterizing the thermal conductivities of composites are summarized, and the limits of the thermal conductivity of liquid metal TIMs are predicted to guide practical R&D efforts. To address the urgent need for higher-performance TIMs to overcome future thermal management challenges of electronic devices, a roadmap is outlined for the development of high-performance liquid metal TIMs, and a strategy for running these technologies is demonstrated.

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  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Cryogenics, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Xin Zhang & ZhongShan Deng

  2. School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xin Zhang & ZhongShan Deng

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Zhang, X., Deng, Z. Roadmap towards new generation liquid metal thermal interface materials. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 66, 1530–1550 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-023-2379-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-023-2379-6

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