Fabrication by SPS and thermophysical properties of high volume fraction SiCp/Al matrix composites

SiCp/Al composites containing high volume fraction of SiC particles were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS), and their thermophysical properties, such as thermal conductivity (TC) and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), were characterized. High relative density (R-D) of composites was successfully achieved through the optimization of sintering parameters, such as sintering temperature, sintering pressure and heating rate. The measured TCs of SiCp/Al composites fabricated by SPS are higher than 195W/m(.)k, no matter the volume fraction of SiC particles is high or low as long as the R-D is higher than 95%. The measured CTEs of SiCp/Al composites are in good agreement with the estimated values based on Kerner's model. The high volume fraction of SiCp/Al composites are a good candidate material to substitute for conventional thermal management materials in advanced electronic packages due to its tailorable thermophysical properties.