Dow DOWSIL TC-3065 Thermal Gel

Dow has introduced DOWSIL TC-3065 Thermal Gel — a one-part, thermally conductive gel developed to dissipate high amounts of heat away from sensitive electronic components. The gel easily fills gaps due to its good wetting ability and can replace fabricated elastomeric thermal pads that may fail to protect electronics from the high heat associated with 5G’s greater power densities.

The product is a soft, stress-relieving and shock-damping silicone gel with a thermal conductivity of 6.5 W/mk. With an extrusion rate of 60 g/m, the gel resists slumping during vertical assembly and completely fills uneven spacing. The dispensable material accommodates the high part-to-part tolerances that can challenge fabricated thermal pads with their constrained dimensions. It is supplied as a non-flowable gel and supports a bond line thickness as thin as 150 µm when high pressure is applied.

The gel can be dispensed onto substrates such as aluminium heat sinks and encapsulated chips that have an epoxy surface. After assembly it can achieve complete curing by applying 100°C for 30 min (or 80°C for 60 min) or from the heat generated by the component. If rework is required, the gel can be removed completely without leaving behind a residue after curing. At room temperature the working time or open time is generally five days, which helps reduce scrap rates during electronic assembly.

The gel balances adhesion with re-workability to support advanced technologies that require ongoing performance. It will not bleed silicone oil after full curing, which helps to avoid contamination of device surfaces that can degrade performance. It is also resistant to humidity and other harsh environments and will not crack during long-term ageing. It has ultralow levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

To achieve high levels of manufacturing efficiency, the gel supports automatic dispensing and heat curing after assembly. It can be used in telecommunications and data communications equipment, including optical transceivers, Ethernet switches and routers, high-speed solid-state disks (SSD) and other network devices.