Thermal Interface Materials (TIM) is one of the common heat dissipation methods and is commonly used in IC packaging and electronic heat dissipation. When assembling the microelectronic materials and the heat sink, there is a very slight uneven gap between them. If they are installed directly, the actual contact area between them is only 10% of the area of the base of the heat sink, and the rest are air gaps. The air is a poor conductor of heat, which will seriously hinder the conduction of heat, and ultimately cause the radiator to be inefficient. The function of the thermal interface material is to fill these air gaps, establish an effective heat conduction channel between the electronic components and the heat sink, reduce the heat transfer resistance, and improve the heat dissipation performance.
There are many types of thermal interface materials, mainly including thermal grease, thermal silica gel sheet, thermal phase change material and thermal double-sided adhesive. Among them, the thermal grease has good fluidity, and can be placed on the heating device by dispensing, printing, etc. It is suitable for the thermal conductivity functional composite material used for smaller gaps or zero gaps. Thermal grease has ultra-low thermal resistance, so it is suitable for high heat generation close-fitting scenarios. It has the lowest thickness of thermally conductive products and can quickly transfer the heat of the device to achieve good temperature control. In addition, depending on different scenarios and needs, thermally conductive silicone sheets, phase change materials and double-sided adhesive are also widely used.
The amount of smartphone TIM used is not large, but the price is higher than graphite film. According to the China BJZS Technology Prospectus, the unit price of synthetic graphite in 2017 was 129.94 yuan / square meter, while the unit price of TIM thermal conductive material was 783.35 yuan / square meter. According to our estimates, the value of a single smartphone TIM is about 0.5 to 2.5 US dollars.
The continuous influx of Chinese manufacturers and the increasingly competitive market structure
According to a report released by BCC Research in 2015, the global thermal interface material market size will increase from US $ 716 million in 2014 to US $ 1.1 billion in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.28% from 2014 to 2020. According to a report released by Credence Research in 2016, the global thermal interface material market size is expected to reach US $ 1.711 billion in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.0% from 2014 to 2022. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China was the largest country in the global thermal interface material market in 2016, accounting for 45%. It is expected that the proportion will increase to 53% by 2020. In the international market, a relatively stable market competition pattern has formed in the field of thermal interface materials. American and European companies represented by Chomerics and Bergquist are in a monopoly position in the international and domestic mid-to-high-end markets. In the Chinese market, stimulated by huge market demand, the number of production companies has increased rapidly in recent years.
The preparation process is rich in variety and diversified to meet the heat dissipation requirements of all levels
There are various types of manufacturing processes for thermal interface materials. Taking graphite phase change thermal grease as an example, starting from molten paraffin, a total of 5 procedures are performed to finally obtain high thermal grease. This preparation process is simple and easy to manufacture, and the production difficulty is low. One of the materials, nanoporous graphite, has high adsorption for high-precision paraffin and long service life. The final product, high thermal conductivity silicone grease, can efficiently cool down and can be reused at the same time.
The manufacturing process of composite thermal grease is relatively complicated. It mainly uses the special properties of carbon nanotubes to form a thermal network with alumina in the colloid. The thermal conductivity of the final product composite thermal grease is significantly higher than that of the prior art. , Excellent thermal conductivity.
The upstream of the thermal interface material includes structural stabilizers, anti-corrosion additives, silica gel, alumina, and thickeners. Most of these materials can be obtained through market-based procurement. The market supply is sufficient and there is no scarcity, so the upstream bargaining power is weak. Downstream applications are very extensive, mainly including communication equipment, electronic equipment, automobiles and household appliances.
In addition to the increasing demand for thermal interface materials in traditional downstream industries, the demand for thermal interface materials in emerging technologies and industries is also increasing. According to the forecast of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, VR will reach 3.78 billion yuan for thermal interface materials in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 99.37% from 2016 to 2021; the demand for thermal interface materials for new energy vehicles will reach 12.24 billion yuan in 2021. It has become one of the downstream sectors with the largest demand, with a compound annual growth rate of 44.84%.