For state of the art and high-power electronics metals or ceramics are commonly used as heat spreading materials of choice. While the performance is adequate at the moment, the power density and therefore heat production in electronic circuits will increase tremendously in the next decades or even years. Today diamond is being used for demanding thermal assemblies. While diamond outperforms all known ceramics and metals in thermal dissipation capabilities its difficult workability increases the price for this material to a non-economic level. Low-cost high conductive materials are necessary for the next generation of electronic devices. The demands on the thermal management of the products increase almost day-per-day, conventional printed circuit boards, even equipped with metal cores, will soon reach their physical limits.
In the collaborative research project GRATEC scientists and engineers from Austria, Sweden and China synthesize graphene- and carbon nanotube (CNT)-based materials, deposit and functionalize heat-spreading films by industrial scalable processes like Aerosol Jet printing and plasma-treatment and characterize the films by sophisticated methods. The goal is thermal management of the next generation of electronics with a performance comparable to copper. The novel materials are expected to overcome the insufficient thermal performance of printable conductors in their targeted field of application in the automotive industry, specifically high-performance front-lighting systems.
The presentation will show results of light, scanning electron and atomic force microscopic and Raman spectroscopic investigations of aerosol jet and inkjet printed and functionalized nanocarbon films on aluminium substrates and first calculated and measured thermal performance data. 

For state of the art and high-power electronics metals or ceramics are commonly used as heat spreading materials of choice. While the performance is adequate at the moment, the power density and therefore heat production in electronic circuits will increase tremendously in the next decades or even years. Today diamond is being used for demanding thermal assemblies. While diamond outperforms all known ceramics and metals in thermal dissipation capabilities its difficult workability increases the price for this material to a non-economic level. Low-cost high conductive materials are necessary for the next generation of electronic devices. The demands on the thermal management of the products increase almost day-per-day, conventional printed circuit boards, even equipped with metal cores, will soon reach their physical limits.
In the collaborative research project GRATEC scientists and engineers from Austria, Sweden and China synthesize graphene- and carbon nanotube (CNT)-based materials, deposit and functionalize heat-spreading films by industrial scalable processes like Aerosol Jet printing and plasma-treatment and characterize the films by sophisticated methods. The goal is thermal management of the next generation of electronics with a performance comparable to copper. The novel materials are expected to overcome the insufficient thermal performance of printable conductors in their targeted field of application in the automotive industry, specifically high-performance front-lighting systems.
The presentation will show results of light, scanning electron and atomic force microscopic and Raman spectroscopic investigations of aerosol jet and inkjet printed and functionalized nanocarbon films on aluminium substrates and first calculated and measured thermal performance data.