Shin-Etsu Chemical develops low-hardness, high-thermally conductive silicone soft pad

TOKYO, JAPAN: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd has developed and begun to market a low-hardness, high-thermally conductive silicone soft pad, the "TC-CA Series," that offers excellent cost-performance.

The newly developed series of products have both high thermal conductivity and excellent electrical insulation properties, which stem from Shin-Etsu’s advanced polymer and thermally conductive filler composite material technologies.

In addition, compared to conventional products, the new silicone soft pad product combines such superior properties as: (1) high thermal conductivity, (2) low-hardness that makes for good compressibility and a stress-relaxation property that can reduce stress to heat modules, (3) an excellent workability and processibility, and (4) low specific gravity.

The main application of this new series of silicone soft pad products will be for countermeasures against the heat emanating from various electronics devices, such as those mounted in notebook PCs, LED lighting, hybrid cars and electric cars, and it meets the need for thinner and lighter weight device applications.

The TC-CA Series has a line-up of four kinds of products – the TC-CAS, TC-CAB, TC-CAD, and TC-CAT. One can choose the most appropriate product depending on your application or usage conditions. Commercial production is scheduled to begin in December 2009.

These heat-dissipating thermal interface materials are thermally conductive compounds fitted between the heat-generating unit, such as a computer’s CPU, and the heat sink. Demand for thermally conductive silicone rubber sheet is expanding for such heat-dissipation applications as in the growing number of electronic components in automobiles and LEDs as well as in PCs, home appliances, and electronic game units. Moreover, due to the increasing miniaturization and higher performance of electronic devices, the need for more effective heat-dissipation materials is further increasing.

Shin-Etsu Chemical has a line-up of various thermally conductive silicone materials such as soft pad, insulating rubber, phase-change materials, two-sided adhesive tapes, greases, gels and adhesive agents. Depending on the application, it is possible to meet diverse heat-dissipation requirements, and Shin-Etsu will go forward with product development to meet the future needs of a market that will have even more sophisticated needs.

Silicones are highly functional materials that combine characteristics of both organic and inorganic materials. They are materials that provide high-value-added features for products in a wide range of industrial fields, including electrical and electronic applications, automobiles, construction, cosmetics and chemicals.