Characterize the Thermal Properties of the Vertical Aligned Carbon Nanotubes Array Used for IC Cooling with Photothermal Method

Carbon Nanotubes show great potential to be used as an interface material for heat transport in IC cooling due to their high thermal conductivity. In this work, we developed a novel photothermal metrology to characterize the thermal properties of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes array (V-CNTA), which is grown directly on silicon/copper substrate with plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The thermal conductivity of the V-CNTA and the thermal interface contact resistance are measured and correlated with theoretical calculation. The total thermal resistance of V-CNTA is measured to be 0.12 cm². K/W with a pressure of 60 psi and decreases with increasing the applied pressure. It demonstrated the capability of using V-CNTA for IC cooling. The total thermal resistance of the thermal grease is also measured for comparison.