Thermal adhesive tapes
Universal Science stock the industries widest range of thermal adhesive tapes and can supply rolls cuts to almost any width or populated with custom cut parts. Whatever your thermal requirements we almost certainly have a tape to suit the application including our innovative reflowable tape – Bondline 1000-REFLOW. Please click here to see our entire range or you can request samples of any of our tapes click here.
IMPCB or FR4?
Insulated Metal Printed Circuit Boards (IMPCB) distribute the intense heat flux generated in a surface mounted power semiconductor or LED by rapidly conducting the heat along and through the upper conductive Copper track and then passing through a thin Dielectric with further heat spreading achieved by the metal base layer.
When it comes to choosing FR4 with thermal via holes as an alternative substrate to IMPCB’s it is vital that you choose the correct thermally conductive electrically insulating tape (Bondline) or interface pad (T-Pad) between the board and its heatsink.
Why? Because the insulating layer of the IMPCB is “built-in” and is part of the overall construction of the material whereas the thermal interface tape such as Bondline needs to perform many functions; this interface must be electrically isolating to withstand the voltage breakdown / insulation requirements on the FR4 PCB. It must also remove microscopic air voids on the two mating surfaces otherwise the hot component will be at risk of overheating due to a poor heat conductive path through an air void.
Finally, the interface material should have good thermal conductivity to transit the heat to its heatsink and, in the case of Bondline, it adheres the FR4 and the Heatsink together mechanically which can speed up production especially in the case of an LED module. Bondline is also designed to thermally connect IMPCBs as well as FR4 substrates to heatsinks to aid heat transfer.
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