High thermally conductive graphene film as thermal strap and heat spreader for radar and laser applications

Important results from the project

The goal of the project is to develop graphene films to balance the high in-plane thermal conductivity and excellent flexibility for thermal strap and heat spreading plate in radar and laser application. Two types of graphene films have been developed: 1. Flexible thermal strap used for connecting two fixed components; 2. Heat spreading material with relatively thicker graphene films. The thermal conduction and flexibility of graphene film is superior than those of Cu, Al foil and graphite sheet. It has a great potential for flexible thermal strap application.

Expected long term effects

The graphene film itself shows 3-5 times higher thermal conductivity than Cu and Al. With introduction of different interfaces by making a thermal strap, the efficiency of heat dissipation by using graphene strap has increased 15-35% compared with Cu and Al foils. Normal Cu and Al thermal strap is rigid and/or heavy, and graphite strap is brittle, and it is not so practical to handle. Graphene thermal strap instead shows much better flexibility. The thicker graphene film is possible to manufacture, the thermal performance still need to be improved.

Approach and implementation

Within the project, we formed a good supply chain with partners: SHT provided graphene material, Chalmers did the material characterization and Saab have provided the specification of possible applications. Technically, we have better understanding on graphene thermal and mechanical properties with aid of Chalmers and SHT. The scale up of graphene film production is also improved by SHT. With the same partners, we will move on for next step with introduction of demonstrator and set up the whole system to test the thermal and mechanical performance in a more relevant environment.