EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF METALLIC-COATED JUNCTIONS ON THERMAL CONTACT CONDUCTANCE

The effects of one-surface and two-surface coatings on thermal contact conductance of contacting aluminum 6061-T6 surfaces were experimentally investigated through the use of metallic coatings prepared by the ion vapor deposition (IVD) process. Three different coating materials, aluminum, lead, and indium, were evaluated using two different coating thicknesses and two different surface roughnesses over the pressure range of 100 to 500 kPa, which is suitable for microelectronic application purposes. Experimental results are presented to graphically illustrate the dimensionless thermal contact conductance of one-surface coatings and two-surface coatings as a function of contact pressure. The thermal contact conductance was found to vary from 0 to 500 percent of the uncoated value, depending on the contact surface characteristics.