Characterization of Gamma-irradiated Carbon Nanotube and Metallic Foil Thermal Interface Materials for Space Systems

Abstract

Removal of waste heat generated via Joule heating during the operation of electronic devices is critical to overall system performance and reliability. A significant fraction of the overall thermal budget is consumed by heat transfer across the interface of contacting materials. To enhance the flow of heat from source to sink, thermal interface materials (TIMs) are used to reduce thermal contact resistance (TCR) by increasing real contact area at the interface. In space systems, TIMs are exposed to high doses of gamma radiation not encountered in typical terrestrial applications. With typical design lifetimes of 5 years or more, total radiation exposure can be significant and can affect the structure and performance of the TIM. Here, we report measurements of the pressure-dependent TCR of metallic foils and carbon nanotube TIMs (CNT-TIMs) in both vacuum and ambient air environments. The TIMs were irradiated in a gamma cell at a rate of 200 rad/s to a total dose of 50 Mrad. TCR was measured before and afte...