Aug 20 2008
Dow Corning Corporation's Electronics group today announced the immediate availability of DOW CORNING(R) TC-5688 Thermally Conductive Compound - an ultra-high-performance, non-curing thermal grease developed for use with Intel Corp.'s newest mobile microprocessor - Intel(R) Core(R)2 Extreme mobile processor QX9300.
The DOW CORNING(R) TC-5688 Thermally Conductive Compound and a variety of competitor thermal interface materials (TIMs) were subjected to extensive thermal stress evaluation with the Quad-Core mobile tester and live Intel(R) Core(R)2 Extreme mobile processor QX9300 testing. Dow Corning's new thermal grease demonstrated the best initial thermal-resistance values of any competitor TIM tested on the Quad-Core mobile tester as well as exceptional resistance to pump-out, the tendency of some TIMs to migrate from their usage area after repeated thermal-expansion cycles, resulting in decreased performance. TC-5688 was the only thermal grease compound tested to exhibit sufficient reliability after repeated power cycling, while other thermal greases suffered severe degradation.
TC-5688 offers extremely low thermal resistance at 0.05 degrees C-cm(2)/W and a high level of thermal conductivity at 5.67 W/mK. It excels in real-world applications involving non-uniform substrates and varying bond line thicknesses. TC-5688 is also suitable for cooling other Intel processors and in a wide array of non-computing areas - including power, industrial and light-emitting diode (LED) applications - where high-performance, highly reliable thermal materials are required.
"Thermal greases are the preferred form of TIM for most computer assemblers because of their excellent thermal performance, low cost and ease of processing," said Andrew Lovell from Dow Corning's Thermal Materials Group.
"We are very excited about the outstanding performance of our newest thermal grease developed for Intel(R) Core(R)2 Extreme mobile processor QX9300. We have been developing a broad portfolio of thermal materials in recent years, and the cutting-edge, market-leading capabilities of TC-5688 significantly strengthen our product offerings for the rapidly growing mobile PC market."
Market researchers expect laptop computer shipments to reach 125 million in 2008 and to surpass desktop sales during 2010. TC-5688 is the ideal thermal material for this growing market since it provides excellent thermal performance and the highest reliability for the bare die processors used in laptop computers.
PC manufacturers use TIMs to carry heat away from microprocessors, graphics processors and other critical components, typically by applying a thin layer of the compound between a chip and a heat sink. Other emerging thermal materials markets include LEDs, flat-panel displays and a variety of communication and automotive products.
For more information on semiconductor, click here.