Thermal properties of diamond/Ag composites fabricated by eletroless silver plating

Thermal management in microelectronic technology has become an important issue due to the increase of device power and integration levels. Diamond and silver were selected for the fabrication of composites with high thermal conductivity and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). Diamond reinforcement powders with varied types, shapes and sizes were electroless plated by silver. Then these powders were hot-pressed in air at 600 °C, 500 MPa for 30 min to produce bulk silver matrix composites. The thermal conductivity and the CTEs of the composite at 20 vol.% are 420 W/m K and 12 ppm/K, respectively. These diamond/Ag composites have potential applications for the high integration electronic devices.

Research Highlights
► Diamond reinforcement powders were electroless plated by silver.
► Composites were produced by hot-pressing in air at 600 °C, 500 MPa for 30 minutes.
► The thermal conductivity of the 20 vol.% Diamond/Ag composite is 420 W/mK.