Research PaperEnhanced thermal transport in polymers with an infrared-selective thermal emitter for electronics cooling

- A new way to improve heat transfer in polymers by thermal radiation is proposed.
- A selective thermal emitter is produced, made of a metallic diffraction grating.
- Controlling the thermal radiation boosted its propagation deep into polymers.
- Effectively propagating thermal radiation in polymers improved their heat spreading.

Passive thermal management has attracted much attention for use in electronic devices. In this study, we propose a novel thermal management technique based on spectral matching between thermal radiation and the infrared optical window of polymers, which are widely used in device encapsulation and packaging. The unique effects of this technique on heat transfer were numerically and experimentally studied. Our numerical analysis confirms that selectively enhancing thermal radiation in the optical window of polymers improved thermal propagation deep into the polymers, reducing local temperature distributions at their surface. In addition, our experiments demonstrate that boosting thermal radiation propagation deep into polymers effectively enhanced their heat spreading and dissipation. Our new method for thermal management in polymers can improve passive thermal management in electronic devices that include polymers.