Application-specific SMD heat sinks from CTX

“In the past two years, the demand for custom SMD heat sinks has increased considerably,” says Wilfried Schmitz, Managing Director of CTX Thermal Solutions GmbH. CTX meets this demand with application-specific SMD heat sinks manufactured from continuous cast aluminum alloys or high-grade aluminum. Like standard SMD heat sinks, the extruded or cold extruded heat sinks are available in bulk or as tape-and-reel material.

CTX offers three options for the bond between the semiconductor and the SMD heat sink:

• A manual bond is achieved by applying a thermally conductive adhesive to the semiconductor contact surface and then placing the SMD heat sink on the electronic element to be cooled.
• For automated processing, the SMD heat sinks are provided with a double-sided adhesive thermally conductive foil for bonding to the semiconductor.
• Alternatively, extruded and cold extruded SMD heat sinks can be pre-tinned to enable manual or automated soldering to the PCB to create a secure bond to the semiconductor element.

Numerous advantages

Compared to standard SMD heat sinks, which are manufactured from copper by means of stamping and forming and then tinned, extruded or cold extruded aluminum SMD heat sinks feature important advantages: Both processes make it possible to implement highly individual heat sink geometries with very large surfaces. This makes them just as efficient as copper heat sinks. Application-specific SMD heat sinks have the added advantage of much lower material and process expenses.