Contact PadTM 
Contact PadTM vs. convention
| PRODUCT |
|---|
 CP65 |
 Silicone Pads |
 Graphite |
 Indium |
| THERMAL RESISTANCE (ASTM D5470) |
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY |
HEAT SPREADING |
TEMPERATURE CONTROL |
LONG-TERM RELIABILITY |
COMPRESSION SET (ASTM D395) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.35 – 0.50 cm²K/W | 12 W/mK | 200 W/mK | Fast and predictable | Consistent performance. Performance may increase as Carbice Nanotubes settle and further lower resistance. |
Negligible. Carbice Nanotube hair maintains rebound capability over time & cycling. |
| 0.35 – 5.0 cm²K/W | 5 – 50 W/mK | Negligible | Slower and less predictable due to high compression set with cycling. | Performance decreases. Pads can age and harden after thermo-mechanical cycling after <1000 cycles. Low temperature reliability concerns, low to moderate durability. Silicone oil leak over time. |
Low to moderate compression set. Hard pads: 1 – 5%. |
| 0.40 – 1.0 cm²K/W | 5 – 10 W/mK | 120 – 1800 W/mK | Fast, less predictable and susceptible to catastrophic failure. | Performance decreases. Cracking and shedding concerns after repeated wear-and-tear at <1000 cycles. |
Low to moderate compression set: 3 – 15%. |
| 0.15 – 0.30 cm²K/W | 87 W/mK | 87 W/mK | Fast, low predictability due to contact variability between cycles. | Moderate durability. Cannot be used for applications above 150°C. Stains the interface after just a few cycles. |
Requires high pressure. Zero rebound. |
Customizable specs to ensure your product performs. Build yours today.
Carbice product platforms are versatile, reliable, easy to install, and stable over time. Tell us about your project and see which Carbice product could solve your thermal needs.
Contact Pad™ cools reliably for Semiconductor Testing
The challenge of heat management during semiconductor testing
Chips produce more heat and are less capable to dissipate heat in a tester:
- Higher power applied during testing generates excessive heat
- No conventional TIM survives repeated make/break chip insertion causing less heat dissipation
- Slows down testing throughput and lowers chip yields
Meet Contact Pad
Contact Pad is the durable Carbice® Pad designed to provide reliable cooling where conventional TIMs experience extreme wear-and-tear:
- Addresses challenging contact scenarios like make-n-break and sliding
- Maintains reliable long-term thermal performance
- Provides fast heat transfer to allow reliable temperature control
Results
We tested the durability of Contact Pad during automated make-n-break cycles and found that Contact Pad:
- Maintained low thermal resistance
- Allowed reliable heat control during thermomechanical cycles
- Consistent for over 1,000,000 make/break cycles
- Does NOT produce debris/foreign material
Durability of Contact Pad during automated make-n-break testing cycles
Using Contact Pad, customers are able to:
- Design new semiconductor testing systems
- Launch new products faster, at lower cost
Customized Contact Pad spreads heat for curved, high-power LEDs during testing
Poor heat management compromises the lifetime, performance, and cost reduction promises of light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
Customized Carbice Contact Pad solution can manage heat spreading for burn-in testing of high-power LEDs with a curved interface, where:
- A large heat flux [2 W/mm²] is concentrated on a small hotspot
- A curvature of 24 μm over a 6 mm area at the interface
- Conventional TIMs fail to cool, making testing unsafe
- Repeated make-n-break of contact is required during testing
Meet Contact Pad
Benefits of Contact Pad:
- Extreme durability minimizing wear-and-tear
- Allow repeated make-n-break contact or sliding contact
- Maintain reliable thermal performance during testing
- Providing fast heat transfer to prevent temperature overshoot
- Can be customized to spread heat for curved interface to avoid hotspot
We employed a customized Carbice Contact Pad solution with a graphite layer added in between CP65 for this application:
- Thickness: 200 μm
- Compression at 100 psi : 20 μm
- 1-sided adhesive
- Pre-cut to specs
Results
Customized Contact Pad CP65 solution provided effective heat spreading for the curved, high-power LED during the burn-in testing process:
- All LEDs can be simultaneously turned on and tested without overheating
- With heat spreading function, device temperature was reduced by over 50 ℃
Using customized Contact Pad, this curved high-power LED device completed testing safely and was rolled out to full production.