With all the unique challenges that are faced today in electronics, the topic of heat inevitably comes up. Oftentimes, thermal pads are used to rid electronics of heat. The reason thermal pads are used it to remove air-gaps between heat generating components and the heat sink. One of the keys to removing air-gaps is how well the material wets out onto both the heat-sink and the heat generating component. Considering some unique topologies these surfaces may present, the ability to wet-out properly is paramount to how well the material performs overall. Thermal pads softness arguably play the biggest part in the ability of the material to wet-out and allow for better thermal performance than harder counter parts. This fact does a good job in illustrating that thermal conductivity is not everything.
Henkels’ Bergquist has a few unique thermal solutions in the S-Class Gap Pads. These soft Gap Pads are among the highest performing pads that also feature a low modulus. These pads feature good thermal conductivity coupled with a low hardness value that combines to allow for a low thermal impedance. The metric of thermal impedance tells a much better story than thermal conductivity. However, that’s not to say that thermal conductivity is not a useful metric. For example, Gap Pad A2000 has the same thermal conductivity as Gap Pad 2000S40 but the chart below shows a different story of thermal impedance. The same phenomenon can be seen with Gap Pad A3000 and Gap Pad 3000S30.
The Gap Pads included in the S-Class include:
-Gap Pad 3000S30 aka GAP PAD TGP 3000
-Gap Pad 5000S35 aka GAP PAD TGP 5000
-Gap Pad 2500S20 aka GAP PAD TGP 2400
-Gap Pad 2000S40 aka GAP PAD TGP 2000
-Gap Pad 1500S30 aka GAP PAD TGP 1300
The materials above are offered in a range of thicknesses. Some reaching as low as .010” to as high as .250”. NEDC manufactures thermal pads through die-cutting and waterjet cutting. In addition, NEDC offers full sheets for sale. For more information on thermal pads, please contact sales@nedc.com.
Gap Pads mentioned datasheets:
Gap Pad 3000S30 also known as GAP PAD TGP 3000 datasheet
Gap Pad 5000S35 also known as GAP PAD TGP 5000 datasheet
Gap Pad 2500S20 also known as GAP PAD TGP 2400 datasheet
Gap Pad 2000S40 also known as GAP PAD TGP 2000 datasheet
Gap Pad 1500S30 also known as GAP PAD TGP 1300 datasheet