An experimental investigation on analyzing the heat transfer characteristics of graphene and carbon nanotube coated microprocessors

Abstract

A microprocessor is an electronic chip used in a Personal Computers (PC). It is a central processing unit (CPU) bearing a single integrated circuit chip that contains millions of inbuilt mini components to execute the desired function. Cluster of mini components in a single entity can certainly increase the packing density of lectronic devices. Due to Miniaturization, the heat transfer rate of microprocessors has to be increased to have a reliable performance. Generally, for every 2and#730;C increases in emperature, the reliability of the electronic components will get reduced upto 10 %. The rise in temperature is a major cause for chip failure in electronics. The decrease in heat build-up inside the component will improve the component reliability and life. In order to have a sustained thermal stability, the excess heat produced by the electronic components must be removed. Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) work as a thermal conducting medium, which retains high thermal conductivity compared to base substrate by efficiently dropping the contact resistance among surfaces. licone and aluminium based grease are currently employed as TIM for heat transfer in electronic components. However, aluminum and silicone have moderate thermal conductivity, which may not contribute for effective heat transfer. Hence, highly thermal conductive medium is essential to achieve the latter. Carbon based nanoparticles like Multi Wall Carbon Nano Tubes (MWCNTs), graphene posses higher thermal conductivity owing to their atomic bonding structure. However, utilization of carbon based nanoparticles as coating material for heat transfer medium in microprocessors constitute in minimal dimension. The objective of this research work is to enhance the heat transfer rate of microprocessor by employing MWCNT and graphene as coating materials. In this work, MWCNT and graphene with varying weight percentage (0.5wt.% to 2.5wt.%) were dispersed in acetone and ethanol. The dispersed nanoparticles were deposited on the substrate through spin coating tech