Abstract
Vertically aligned carbon-nanotube (CNT) film is expected as a superior low contact thermal resistance material, but the microscopic deformation behavior of CNT in contact is not clear. The vertically aligned CNT film was brought into contact with a plano-convex lens, and the contact surfaces were observed using a laser microscope with both high resolution and wide field of view. We clarified the microscopic deformation behavior of the CNT by analyzing states of the contact surfacesunder various contact pressures. The surface of the CNT film has roughness. So, there was a gap between the vertically aligned CNT film and the plano-convex lens, which should be minimized to minimize the thermal contact resistance. The mean distance of the gap was estimated from the intensity of reflected laser of 2-beam interference, and we elucidated the relation between the mean distance and the contact pressure. The vertically aligned CNT film complicatedly deformed on a large-scale under very high contact pressure.
