High-performance thermal management materials should have high thermal conductivities and low coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) for maximizing heat dissipation and minimizing thermal stress and warping, which are critical issues in packaging of power semiconductors, light-emitting diodes and micro electro mechanical systems. Thermal stress and warping arise from CTE differences, which become significant in advanced electronic devices because of high heat generated, for example, when high-power laser diodes or high integration level of IC are in use. To ensure ideal or desired performance and adequate life of these electronic devices, it is necessary to decrease the junction temperature between two components to temperatures lower than: 398 K for military and automobile logic devices; and 343 K for some commercial logic devices. In the case of high-power density devices, the allowable temperature range is limited in the package base and die-attach thermal resistances. In any cases, the development of thermal management materials is significant in electronics fields.
In order to fabricate high-performance thermal management materials with ultra-high thermal conductivities and low CTEs, we have recently initiated a series of investigations, where metal-matrix composites (MMCs) containing high thermal conductive fillers were uniquely fabricated. In our study, to avoid the damage of filler particle surfaces, spark plasma sintering (SPS) processing was used as a processing technique. In the present review, thermal properties of particle dispersed MMCs fabricated using SPS process in our recent works are introduced in comparison with those produced using various fabrication techniques by other researchers.
