COMPOSITES BASED ON THERMALLY HYPER-CONDUCTIVE VAPOR-GROWN CARBON-FIBER

Aluminum matrix composites and carbon/carbon composites based on vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF) were fabricated for analysis of thermophysical properties. Due to the highly graphitic nature of VGCF, the resulting composites exhibit values of thermal conductivity that have not been achieved by using any other carbon fibers, and thus represent new materials for thermal management in applications such as packaging for high-power, high-density electronic devices. In the aluminum matrix VGCF composites, a thermal conductivity of 642 W/m-K was obtained by using a VGCF loading of only 36.5 vol. %. For VGCF/C composites, thermal conductivity of 910 W/m-K has been observed, a value which is more than a factor of two higher than that of copper. Based on the observed thermal conductivity of VGCF/A1 composites and VGCF/C composites, the room temperature thermal conductivity of VGCF in the composite was calculated to be 1460 W/m-K and 1600 W/m-K, respectively.