Thermal conductive tape, also known as TIM, these tapes are designed to be placed on the surface of heat sinks and other cooling devices to help transfer the heat away from components. These specialized adhesive tapes conform well to non-perfect surfaces and support die cutting, making them an ideal choice for a wide range of applications.
As electronic technologies evolve, the amount of heat they generate has become increasingly critical to product performance. As a result, manufacturers need adhesive products that offer excellent thermal management capabilities while allowing a strong bond between substrates.
Thermally conductive glue products provide fantastic bonding abilities and unrivaled thermal management in the pad, liquid, or laminate mediums. These adhesives are easy to apply through automatic dispensing systems and can be applied to a variety of materials and thicknesses.
Using a thermally conductive adhesive is the best way to ensure that a heat-generating component and a heat sink will have effective thermal contact and optimal cooling efficiency. This will improve product life and reliability and reduce component maintenance costs.
The most important consideration in selecting the right thermally conductive adhesive is knowing how thick the material you're using will be and the operating temperature it will be used in. Other factors to consider are mechanical strength, thermal properties, and the ability of the adhesive to conform to different substrates.
Thermally conductive adhesives are typically made of acrylic resin with a silicone-treated polyester release liner, providing a low-temperature, high-performance adhesive. These adhesive tapes provide superior adhesion to a variety of substrates while also offering good electrical insulation. They are often used in a variety of electronic and electromechanical applications such as LED lighting, electronics, and batteries.
A thin, peel-and-stick adhesive line of thermally conductive tapes can replace mechanical attachment hardware like screws to decrease installation time. This is especially useful in LED applications where fasteners can easily break during assembly.
These pressure-sensitive adhesives are ideal for application to a variety of thermally conductive substrates, including aluminum and metal. They are also a good choice for applications that require superior shock and vibration resistance.
The thermally conductive adhesive on the tape is coated with a specialized acrylic resin, which has a typical operating temperature of 90 deg C. This specialized acrylic chemistry allows the thermally conductive adhesive to be placed on a wide variety of surfaces, reducing adhesive application time and complexity.
The patented polymer and ceramic fillers in these tapes allow for thermal transfer between heat-generating components and their associated heat sinks or other cooling devices. Thermal conductive tapes are available in a wide range of sizes, and they come in double-sided versions to facilitate assembly automation.
