Thermal interface materials market heating up

TIMs will grow to $3 billion in 2025, according to IDTechEx Research.

Endless advances in electronics are changing every aspect of our lives. Consumers demand devices that are faster, thinner and lighter while being reliable. This means higher-density and -power electronics, especially in smaller wearable devices. But this leads to more heat building up from the components, which damages and degrades the electronics. As a result, this problem is leading to a large opportunity for materials that can manage heat generation better--known as thermal interface materials orTIMs--and, as a result, enable electronics to operate faster.

The TIM market will be $1.3 billion in 2015, according to IDTechEx Research in the report, Thermal Interface Materials 2015-2025: Status, Opportunities and Market Forecasts, and it will grow to $3 billion by 2025.

Material options

When thermal management first started to become an issue, the choice of materials on offer was limited. Thermal grease was used to fill gaps between power devices and heat sinks. Manufacturing with grease is messy and imprecise, so while the material remains popular in industrial computing and consumer electronics, it is experiencing decreasing market share.

Over time, thermal pads made from a silicone elastomer and electrically conductive fillers began to emerge. These are cleaner, easier to use and more precise. The pads fill air voids between mating parts when subjected to assembly pressures from clips or screws, and exhibit continually improving thermal performance as further flowing of the material occurs. Pads of this kind will be the most widely used thermal interface material by 2025.

To read the full article, please go to EETimes.

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