Thermal gels target mission critical electronics

The new THERM-A-GAP GEL 35VT and THERM-A-GAP GEL 50VT conduct heat away from electronics to heat sinks or enclosures and perform reliably in both vertical and high-vibration applications.

The ‘VT’ gels - short for ‘Vibration/Vertical Tackiness’ - feature innovative materials that have proved highly effective at withstanding rigorous tests involving vertical slump, high vibration and pump out, as well as telecommunications thermal verification processes.

Long-term reliability is essential as it provides confidence for mission-critical applications that rely on consistent thermal performance over many years of continuous operation.

The tackiness of the gels delivers the added benefit of displacing air at thin bond lines and minimising thermal impedance. It is possible to dispense the gels at various bond line thicknesses, typically up to 4 mm, to take up gaps created by assembly or manufacturing tolerances.

These cost-effective new gels are suitable for applications such as telecommunications infrastructure, battery energy storage systems (BESS), ADAS and automotive control modules, automotive sensors and radar, and a variety of other electronic systems in the defence, power, industrial and consumer sectors.

GEL 35VT provides a typical thermal conductivity of 3.5 W/m-K, while GEL 50VT offers 5.2 W/m-K. As with all thermal gels from Parker Chomerics, the formulation of these latest products accommodates today’s high-performance and high-reliability electronics while proving ideal for automated dispensing machines, rework and field repair situations.

Both gels require no mixing or secondary curing in support of easy application and system modifications.

THERM-A-GAP GEL 35VT provides electrical properties that include: 200 Vac/mm dielectric strength (Chomerics test method); 10¹³ Ωcm volume resistivity (ASTM D257); 6.8 dielectric constant at 1000 KHz/0.25 mm thick (ASTM D150); and 0.022 dissipation factor at 1000 kHz/0.25 mm thick (Chomerics).

Based on the same tests, THERM-A-GAP GEL 50VT offers the following electrical properties: 200 Vac/mm dielectric strength; 10¹⁴ Ωcm volume resistivity; 5.2 dielectric constant at 1000 KHz/0.76 mm thick; and 0.003 dissipation factor at 1000 kHz/0.76 mm thick.

These RoHS-compliant materials are suitable for use in temperatures from -40°C to +150°C (GEL 35VT) and -55°C to +200°C (GEL 50VT). Both are available in syringe, cartridge and pail containers, offering standard fill volumes from 10 to 2500 cc.