Michael H. Bunyan

Measurement, significance and application of thermal properties of thermal interface materials using ASTM D5470

This paper describes the ASTM D5470 (1) test method for measuring thermal transmission properties of interface materials. Details of the equipment, the methodology and the care required for accurate power and temperature measurements are discussed. The difference between a material property as determined by D5470, and an application specific property as measured under actual in-situ conditions are discussed in detail. The paper concludes by showing examples of how a thermal property determined by D5470 can be used to obtain first order approximation of performance in a specific application.