Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1539283
44 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2025 The Heat Is On: How the Market is Responding The thermal interface materials market is undergoing rapid expansion, with multiple industry research firms projecting sustained double-digit growth in the coming years: • Market valued at $4.1 to 4.6 billion in 2024, with projections ranging from $7.5 billion to $12.4 billion by 2030–2034, reflecting a com- pound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11–12%. • This growth is the result of the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and high- performance computing, the expansion of telecom infrastructure (notably 5G), and the proliferation of consumer electronics. • While the Asia-Pacific region currently leads in consumption, demand for TIM solutions is also rising steadily across North America and Europe. • TIM2 materials used between packages and heatsinks account for a large share of the market. However, TIM1 materials, applied at the chip level, are gaining momentum due to advances in semiconductor packaging technologies. This surge in demand is driven not only by the escalating thermal output of modern electronic systems but also by the growing recognition of the critical role TIMs play in system-level thermal management. TIM2 Thermal Science: Heat Transfer and Thermal Resistance The primary function of any TIM is to minimize thermal resistance between two surfaces. For a TIM2 interface, the total thermal resistance (Rth) is given by: R th = R bulk + R contact1 + R contact2 Where R bulk , the intrinsic material resistance, is defined by Fourier's law: R bulk = BLT / k, where BLT is the bondline thickness and k is the thermal con- ductivity (W/m·K). R contact1 and R contact2 are the interfacial thermal resistances at the TIM-surface interfaces, and in practice, their combined value is often much greater than R bulk . While a high thermal conductivity (k-value) is desirable for TIM materials, it does not ensure low thermal resistance. Without adequate surface wet- ting and mechanical compliance (the ability to con- form to surface irregularities), interfacial contact resistance can dominate the thermal path. That is why a TIM's capacity to fill surface irregularities and microscopic voids is often more important to overall thermal performance than its intrinsic ther- mal conductivity. Notably, many thermal modeling tools used in package design overlook interfacial resistance, focusing instead on bulk resistance alone. This simplification can result in thermal solutions that underperform in real-world conditions, where inadequate heat dissipation forces chip throttling, undermining the performance advantages of high-speed, high-power devices. Closing the Gap: The Rise of Two-Part (2K) Silicone TIMs Gap fillers are a type of TIM2 material engineered to effec- tively bridge variable gaps between components and heat spreaders, providing both thermal conductivity and mechanical compliance. Among these, two-part (2K) silicone-based gap fillers have emerged as a preferred solu-