Carbice and Dow partner to enhance thermal management of electronics

Atlanta, GA – Dow and Carbice have a groundbreaking partnership to offer advanced thermal interface materials for various industries, including mobility, industrial, consumer electronics, and semiconductors. Unveiled at The Battery Show North America in 2024, this partnershipopens in a new tab combines decades of Dow’s silicone expertise with aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) technology from Carbice. The collaboration supports innovation for diverse applications through thermal management solutions that are reliable, affordable, and customizable.

A thermal interface material (TIM) is a material placed between two parts—like a heat-generating device and a heat sink—to help with heat transfer. In electronic devices, gaps can form because of rough surfaces, manufacturing flaws, or misalignment during assembly. These gaps have lower thermal conductivity than solid materials, leading to higher thermal resistance and poor heat dissipation. This can cause hotspots, overheating, or even device failure.

Have you ever noticed your PC or cell phone getting hot when you use it for a while? This happens because of electrical resistance, where the flow of electricity creates friction and generates heat. This heat can slow down your device and affect its performance. That is where thermal interface materials (TIMs) come in. They help transfer heat away from the hot parts, keeping your device cool and running smoothly.

Dow builds on silicone’s inherent potential by combining it with industry-leading materials knowledge, application expertise, customer collaboration, and a global footprint. This continues to be true in our partnership with Carbice.

The following sections elaborate on our industry-leading product portfolio of heat transfer solutions and highlight the new materials from the partnership.

DOWSIL™ thermally conductive silicone adhesives are suitable for bonding and sealing hybrid circuit layers, semiconductor components, heat spreaders, and other applications that demand broad design, flexible processing options and excellent thermal management.

The high-performance materials in our portfolio encompass moisture-cure grades for simple, room-temperature processing as well as heat-cure solutions for speeding productivity and time to market.

Carbice® SA-90 with Silicone Adhesive provides exceptional thermal performance with the functionality of an adhesive. It offers unique assembly benefits by reducing the need for mechanical fastening and can be easily adopted in pick and place processes. The thermal pad ensures reliable high thermal temperature stability, thanks to Dow Silicone technology, and remains re-workable for component adjustments.

By creating a TIM through the integration of silicone with CNTs, we can develop robust thermal management solutions with excellent interface contact, thereby reducing stress transfer for reliable performance across applications and environments.

Carbice CNTs are durable, reworkable thermal pads and can be effective on uneven surfaces when combined with Dow liquid silicones. Dow liquid silicones can be dispensed exactly where needed and can be enhanced in strength when combined with Carbice pads. Together, these materials complement each other and enable superior performance, customization, and thinner bond lines.

The versatility of silicone chemistry can help expand design freedom, increase processing options, and ultimately enhance the performance and reliability of the devices and machines we use every day.

From race to road, vehicles are increasingly reliant on PCB system assemblies for everything from power electronics systems to propulsion and braking. As this
Heat is the enemy of the devices and systems we use in our everyday lives. Improved thermal management is increasingly critical to maintaining the long-term performance and reliability of PCB system assemblies in virtually every industry.

Our ongoing joint research and development between Dow Silicones and Carbice Lab supports the continuous delivery of cutting-edge, next-generation thermal management solutions to meet market demands for innovation—now and into the future.