Heatsink Material Benefits Computer Power Supplies

Mar 14, 2007 2:15 PM

Laird Technologies’ T-gard 20 is a high-performance, electrically conductive insulating material designed for computer power supply applications. T-gard 20 features a 9000-Vac dielectric breakdown voltage (DBV) that contributes to its high electrical reliability. Customers won’t have to worry about dielectric isolation in their application. T-gard 20 has two times the DBV of the competitive materials. T-gard 20 produces the same thermal performance whether the device is screw or clip mounted. In either situation the thermal impedance of T-gard 20 is 0.6°C-in²/W. The phase change coating melts into a grease-like paste at 52°C, and completely wets out the interface to achieve consistent thermal performance on rough and non-flat surfaces.

The base polyester film has a tensile strength of 30 kpsi to prevent cut through on screw-mounted TO-220 assemblies. T-gard 20 also has high cut-through resistance. The film is flexible so it does not crack or flake like mica. The product is available now and costs less than $0.01 per square inch.