Thermal and Adhesion Properties of Fluorosilicone Adhesives Following Incorporation of Magnesium Oxide and Boron Nitride of Different Sizes and Shapes

Thermally conductive adhesives were prepared by incorporating magnesium oxide (MgO) and boron nitride (BN) into fluorosilicone resins. The effects of filler type, size, and shape on thermal conductivity and adhesion properties were analyzed. Higher thermal conductivity was achieved when larger fillers were used, but smaller ones were advantageous in terms of adhesion strength. Bimodal adhesives containing spherical MgOs with an average particle size of 120 μm and 90 μm exhibited the highest conductivity value of up to 1.82 W/mK. Filler shape was also important to improve the thermal conductivity as the filler type increased. Trimodal adhesives revealed high adhesion strength compared to unimodal and bimodal adhesives, which remained high after aging at 85 °C and 85% relative humidity for 168 h. It was found that the thermal and adhesion properties of fluorosilicone composites were strongly affected by the packing efficiency and interfacial resistance of the particles.

Rheologically Assisted Design of Conductive Adhesives for Stencil Printing on PCB

Driven by the need to deliver new, lead-free, eco-friendly solder pastes for soldering electronic components to Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) based on epoxy, carbon nanotubes (CNT), and exfoliated graphite (EG) were designed. The rheology of the adhesives prepared is paramount for the success of the deposition process, which is based on stencil printing. Thus, a rheological analysis of the process was first performed. Then, an experimental protocol was defined to assess the relevant viscoelastic characteristics of the adhesives for stencil printing application. Different composite formulations of epoxy/CNT/EG were produced. Their rheological characteristics were established following the designed protocol and benchmarked with a commercial solder paste. The thermal and electrical properties of the composite formulations were also characterized. As a result, a new, electrically conductive adhesive was delivered with potential to be an eco-friendly alternative to the solder paste currently used in stencil printing of PCB.