Student: Stephen Hodson

Faculty: Tim Fisher

Sponsor: Raytheon Integrated Systems / DARPA

Challenges

• Strengthen thermal connection between two surfaces
• Mitigate weak bonding at heterogenous interfaces
• Address differences in phonon dispersion & density of states
• Combat wave constriction affects at nanoscale contacts
• Maintain performance under thermal cycling and stability conditions
• Accurately characterize the CNT array (density, diameter distribution, and height)

Approach

• Growth of vertically aligned multi-walled CNT arrays on various substrates
• Development of bonding techniques that include post-growth functionalization and coating
• Assess thermal performance by photoacoustic and ns-thermoreflectance techniques
• Model statistical nature of CNT array characteristics (density and height)

Selected publications

Palladium Thiolate Bonding of Carbon Nanotube Thermal Interfaces