Thermal impedance voids

The selection of highly conductive adhesives is a necessary factor, but not the only one in minimizing thermal impedance. Applying as thin a bond line as possible and avoiding the introduction or creation of voids are also essential in reducing thermal impedance. 

Elastomers are electrically insulating materials, usually in the form of silicone rubber pads, ranging in thickness from 0.001 to 0.20 in. and filled with high-thermal-conductivity materials such as alumina and boron nitride. They require a mechanical pressure to fill the voids. Figure 3.13 shows the variation of thermal impedance vs. pressure of an elastomeric pad for a TO-220 package [19]. 

However, it appears that none of the non-destructive tests currently employed directly correlate with any critical failure property. Most industrial test techniques such as through-transmission and pulse-echo ultrasonics, sonic vibration techniques. X-ray radiography, thermal inspection methods, holography, liquid penetrants, etc. basically attempt to find defects in the joint. Such defects may arise from several sources. Some defects arise from porosity, cracks or voids in the adhesive layer or at the interface and are typically filled with air they will simply be referred to as voids in the present discussions. However, during the service life of the joint such voids may fill with water which makes them far more difficult to detect since, for example, water has a much higher acoustic, impedance than air. Also, zero-volume voids, or debonds, may occur when the adhesive and substrate are in contact but no... 

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