+353-1-416-8900REST OF WORLD
+44-20-3973-8888REST OF WORLD
1-917-300-0470EAST COAST U.S
1-800-526-8630U.S. (TOLL FREE)

The Global Market for Thermal Interface Materials 2024-2035

  • PDF Icon

    Report

  • 291 Pages
  • June 2024
  • Region: Global
  • Future Markets, Inc
  • ID: 5748349

The TIM market is poised for significant growth, driven by the increasing demand for effective thermal management solutions in various end-use industries. As electronic devices continue to evolve, the development of advanced, high-performance TIMs will be critical for ensuring reliability, safety, and user satisfaction.

This market report explores the latest trends, innovations, and growth opportunities in the TIM industry, focusing on key sectors such as consumer electronics, electric vehicles (EVs), data centers, and 5G technology.

Report contents include:

  • Analysis of the various materials and technologies used in TIMs, including:
    • Advanced and multi-functional TIMs
    • TIM fillers (alumina, boron nitride, etc.)
    • Thermal greases, pastes, and gap fillers
    • Phase change materials (organic, inorganic, eutectic mixtures)
    • Metal-based TIMs (solders, liquid metals, sintered materials)
    • Carbon-based TIMs (CNTs, graphene, nanodiamond)
    • Metamaterials and self-healing TIMs
  • Market trends and drivers
  • Market map
  • Analysis of thermal interface materials (TIMs) including:
    • Thermal Pads/Insulators
    • Thermally Conductive Adhesives
    • Thermal Compounds or Greases
    • Thermally Conductive Epoxy/Adhesives
    • Phase Change Materials
    • Metal-based TIMs
    • Carbon-based TIMs
  • Market analysis. Markets covered include:
    • Consumer Electronics: Smartphones, tablets, wearables
    • Electric Vehicles: Batteries, power electronics, charging stations
    • Data Centers: Servers, routers, switches, power supplies
    • ADAS Sensors: Cameras, radar, LiDAR, ECUs
    • 5G: EMI shielding, antennas, base band units, power supplies
  • Global market revenues for thermal interface materials (TIMs), segmented by type and market, historical and forecast to 2035
  • Profiles of 104 producers in the TIM industry. Companies profiled include 3M, Arieca, BNNT, Carbice Corporation, CondAlign, Fujipoly, Henkel, Indium Corporation, KULR Technology Group, Inc., Parker-Hannifin Corporation, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd, and SHT Smart High-Tech AB


This product will be delivered within 1-3 business days.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction
1.1 Thermal management-active and passive
1.2 What are thermal interface materials (TIMs)?
1.2.1 Types
1.2.2 Thermal conductivity
1.3 Comparative properties of TIMs
1.4 Differences between thermal pads and grease
1.5 Advantages and disadvantages of TIMs, by type
1.6 Performance
1.7 Prices

2 Materials
2.1 Advanced and Multi-Functional TIMs
2.2 TIM fillers
2.2.1 Trends
2.2.2 Pros and Cons
2.2.3 Thermal Conductivity
2.2.4 Spherical Alumina
2.2.5 Alumina Fillers
2.2.6 Boron nitride (BN)
2.2.7 Filler and polymer TIMs
2.2.8 Filler Sizes
2.3 Thermal greases and pastes
2.3.1 Overview and properties
2.3.2 SWOT analysis
2.4 Thermal gap pads
2.4.1 Overview and properties
2.4.2 SWOT analysis
2.5 Thermal gap fillers
2.5.1 Overview and properties
2.5.2 SWOT analysis
2.6 Potting compounds/encapsulants
2.6.1 Overview and properties
2.6.2 SWOT analysis
2.7 Adhesive Tapes
2.7.1 Overview and properties
2.7.2 SWOT analysis
2.8 Phase Change Materials
2.8.1 Overview and properties
2.8.2 Types
2.8.2.1 Organic/biobased phase change materials
2.8.2.1.1 Advantages and disadvantages
2.8.2.1.2 Paraffin wax
2.8.2.1.3 Non-Paraffins/Bio-based
2.8.2.2 Inorganic phase change materials
2.8.2.2.1 Salt hydrates
2.8.2.2.1.1 Advantages and disadvantages
2.8.2.2.2 Metal and metal alloy PCMs (High-temperature)
2.8.2.3 Eutectic mixtures
2.8.2.4 Encapsulation of PCMs
2.8.2.4.1 Macroencapsulation
2.8.2.4.2 Micro/nanoencapsulation
2.8.2.5 Nanomaterial phase change materials
2.8.3 Thermal energy storage (TES)
2.8.3.1 Sensible heat storage
2.8.3.2 Latent heat storage
2.8.4 Application in TIMs
2.8.4.1 Thermal pads
2.8.4.2 Low Melting Alloys (LMAs)
2.8.5 SWOT analysis
2.9 Metal-based TIMs
2.9.1 Overview
2.9.2 Solders and low melting temperature alloy TIMs
2.9.2.1 Solder TIM1
2.9.2.2 Sintering
2.9.3 Liquid metals
2.9.4 Solid liquid hybrid (SLH) metals
2.9.4.1 Hybrid liquid metal pastes
2.9.4.2 SLH created during chip assembly (m2TIMs)
2.9.4.3 Die-attach materials
2.9.4.3.1 Solder Alloys and Conductive Adhesives
2.9.4.3.2 Silver-Sintered Paste
2.9.4.3.3 Copper (Cu) sintered TIMs
2.9.4.3.4 Sintered Copper Die-Bonding Paste
2.9.5 SWOT analysis
2.10 Carbon-based TIMs
2.10.1 Carbon nanotube (CNT) TIM Fabrication
2.10.2 Multi-walled nanotubes (MWCNT)
2.10.2.1 Properties
2.10.2.2 Application as thermal interface materials
2.10.3 Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)
2.10.3.1 Properties
2.10.3.2 Application as thermal interface materials
2.10.4 Vertically aligned CNTs (VACNTs)
2.10.4.1 Properties
2.10.4.2 Applications
2.10.4.3 Application as thermal interface materials
2.10.5 BN nanotubes (BNNT) and nanosheets (BNNS)
2.10.5.1 Properties
2.10.5.2 Application as thermal interface materials
2.10.6 Graphene
2.10.6.1 Properties
2.10.6.2 Application as thermal interface materials
2.10.6.2.1 Graphene fillers
2.10.6.2.2 Graphene foam
2.10.6.2.3 Graphene aerogel
2.10.6.2.4 Graphene Heat Spreaders
2.10.6.2.5 Graphene in Thermal Interface Pads
2.10.7 Nanodiamonds
2.10.7.1 Properties
2.10.7.2 Application as thermal interface materials
2.10.8 Graphite
2.10.8.1 Properties
2.10.8.2 Natural graphite
2.10.8.2.1 Classification
2.10.8.2.2 Processing
2.10.8.2.3 Flake
2.10.8.2.3.1 Grades
2.10.8.2.3.2 Applications
2.10.8.3 Synthetic graphite
2.10.8.3.1 Classification
2.10.8.3.1.1 Primary synthetic graphite
2.10.8.3.1.2 Secondary synthetic graphite
2.10.8.3.1.3 Processing
2.10.8.4 Applications as thermal interface materials
2.10.8.4.1 Graphite Sheets
2.10.8.4.2 Vertical graphite
2.10.8.4.3 Graphite pastes
2.10.9 Hexagonal Boron Nitride
2.10.9.1 Properties
2.10.9.2 Application as thermal interface materials
2.10.10 SWOT analysis
2.11 Metamaterials
2.11.1 Types and properties
2.11.1.1 Electromagnetic metamaterials
2.11.1.1.1 Double negative (DNG) metamaterials
2.11.1.1.2 Single negative metamaterials
2.11.1.1.3 Electromagnetic bandgap metamaterials (EBG)
2.11.1.1.4 Bi-isotropic and bianisotropic metamaterials
2.11.1.1.5 Chiral metamaterials
2.11.1.1.6 Electromagnetic “Invisibility” cloak
2.11.1.2 Terahertz metamaterials
2.11.1.3 Photonic metamaterials
2.11.1.4 Tunable metamaterials
2.11.1.5 Frequency selective surface (FSS) based metamaterials
2.11.1.6 Nonlinear metamaterials
2.11.1.7 Acoustic metamaterials
2.11.2 Application as thermal interface materials
2.12 Self-healing thermal interface materials
2.12.1 Extrinsic self-healing
2.12.2 Capsule-based
2.12.3 Vascular self-healing
2.12.4 Intrinsic self-healing
2.12.5 Healing volume
2.12.6 Types of self-healing materials, polymers and coatings
2.12.7 Applications in thermal interface materials
2.13 TIM Dispensing
2.13.1 Low-volume Dispensing Methods
2.13.2 High-volume Dispensing Methods
2.13.3 Meter, Mix, Dispense (MMD) Systems
2.13.4 TIM Dispensing Equipment Suppliers

3 Markets for Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs)
3.1 Consumer electronics
3.1.1 Market overview
3.1.1.1 Market drivers
3.1.1.2 Applications
3.1.1.2.1 Smartphones and tablets
3.1.1.2.2 Wearable electronics
3.1.2 Global market 2022-2035, by TIM type
3.2 Electric Vehicles (EV)
3.2.1 Market overview
3.2.1.1 Market drivers
3.2.1.2 Applications
3.2.1.2.1 Lithium-ion batteries
3.2.1.2.1.1 Cell-to-pack designs
3.2.1.2.1.2 Cell-to-chassis/body
3.2.1.2.2 Power electronics
3.2.1.2.2.1 Types
3.2.1.2.2.2 Properties for EV power electronics
3.2.1.2.2.3 TIM2 in SiC MOSFET
3.2.1.2.3 Charging stations
3.2.2 Global market 2022-2035, by TIM type
3.3 Data Centers
3.3.1 Market overview
3.3.1.1 Market drivers
3.3.1.2 Applications
3.3.1.2.1 Router, switches and line cards
3.3.1.2.1.1 Transceivers
3.3.1.2.1.2 Server Boards
3.3.1.2.1.3 Switches and Routers
3.3.1.2.2 Servers
3.3.1.2.3 Power supply converters
3.3.2 Global market 2022-2035, by TIM type
3.4 ADAS Sensors
3.4.1 Market overview
3.4.1.1 Market drivers
3.4.1.2 Applications
3.4.1.2.1 ADAS Cameras
3.4.1.2.1.1 Commercial examples
3.4.1.2.2 ADAS Radar
3.4.1.2.2.1 Radar technology
3.4.1.2.2.2 Radar boards
3.4.1.2.2.3 Commercial examples
3.4.1.2.3 ADAS LiDAR
3.4.1.2.3.1 Role of TIMs
3.4.1.2.3.2 Commercial examples
3.4.1.2.4 Electronic control units (ECUs) and computers
3.4.1.2.4.1 Commercial examples
3.4.1.2.5 Die attach materials
3.4.1.2.6 Commercial examples
3.4.2 Global market 2022-2035, by TIM type
3.5 EMI shielding
3.5.1 Market overview
3.5.1.1 Market drivers
3.5.1.2 Applications
3.5.1.2.1 Dielectric Constant
3.5.1.2.2 ADAS
3.5.1.2.2.1 Radar
3.5.1.2.2.2 5G
3.5.1.2.3 Commercial examples
3.6 5G
3.6.1 Market overview
3.6.1.1 Market drivers
3.6.1.2 Applications
3.6.1.2.1 EMI shielding and EMI gaskets
3.6.1.2.2 Antenna
3.6.1.2.3 Base Band Unit (BBU)
3.6.1.2.4 Liquid TIMs
3.6.1.2.5 Power supplies
3.6.1.2.5.1 Increased power consumption in 5G
3.6.2 Market players
3.6.3 Global market 2022-2035, by TIM type

4 Company Profiles (104 Company Profiles)5 Research Methodology6 References
List of Tables
Table 1. Thermal conductivities (?) of common metallic, carbon, and ceramic fillers employed in TIMs
Table 2. Commercial TIMs and their properties
Table 3. Advantages and disadvantages of TIMs, by type
Table 4. Key Factors in System Level Performance for TIMs
Table 5. Thermal interface materials prices
Table 6. Comparisons of Price and Thermal Conductivity for TIMs
Table 7. Price Comparison of TIM Fillers
Table 8. Characteristics of some typical TIMs
Table 9. Trends on TIM Fillers
Table 10. Pros and Cons of TIM Fillers
Table 11. Types of Potting Compounds/Encapsulants
Table 12. TIM adhesives tapes
Table 13. Properties of PCMs
Table 14. PCM Types and properties
Table 15. Advantages and disadvantages of organic PCMs
Table 16. Advantages and disadvantages of organic PCM Fatty Acids
Table 17. Advantages and disadvantages of salt hydrates 61
Table 18. Advantages and disadvantages of low melting point metals
Table 19. Advantages and disadvantages of eutectics
Table 20. Benefits and drawbacks of PCMs in TIMs
Table 21. Comparison of Carbon-based TIMs
Table 22. Properties of CNTs and comparable materials
Table 23. Typical properties of SWCNT and MWCNT
Table 24. Comparison of carbon-based additives in terms of the main parameters influencing their value proposition as a conductive additive
Table 25. Thermal conductivity of CNT-based polymer composites
Table 26. Comparative properties of BNNTs and CNTs
Table 27. Properties of graphene, properties of competing materials, applications thereof
Table 28. Properties of nanodiamonds
Table 29. Comparison between Natural and Synthetic Graphite
Table 30. Classification of natural graphite with its characteristics
Table 31. Characteristics of synthetic graphite
Table 32. Thermal Conductivity Comparison of Graphite TIMs
Table 33. Properties of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)
Table 34. Comparison of self-healing systems
Table 35. Types of self-healing coatings and materials
Table 36. Comparative properties of self-healing materials
Table 37. Challenges for Dispensing TIM
Table 38. Thermal Management Application Areas in Consumer Electronics
Table 39. Trends in Smartphone Thermal Materials
Table 40. Thermal Management approaches in commercial Smartphones
Table 41. Global market in consumer electronics 2022-2035, by TIM type (millions USD)
Table 42. Global market in electric vehicles 2022-2035, by TIM type (millions USD)
Table 43. TIM Trends in Data Centers
Table 44. TIM Area Forecast in Server Boards: 2022-2035 (m2)
Table 45. Global market in data centers 2022-2035, by TIM type (millions USD)
Table 46. TIM Players in ADAS
Table 47. Die Attach for ADAS Sensors
Table 48. Die Attach Area Forecast for Key Components Within ADAS Sensors: 2022-2035 (m2)
Table 49. Global market in ADAS sensors 2022-2035, by TIM type (millions USD)
Table 50. TIM Area Forecast for 5G Antennas by Station Size: 2022-2035 (m2)
Table 51. TIM Area Forecast for 5G Antennas by Station Frequency: 2022-2035 (m2)
Table 52. TIMS in BBU
Table 53. 5G BBY models
Table 54. TIM Area Forecast for 5G BBU: 2022-2035 (m2)
Table 55. Power Consumption Forecast for 5G: 2022-2035 (GW)
Table 56. TIM Area Forecast for Power Supplies: 2022-2035 (m2)
Table 57. TIM market players in 5G
Table 58. Global market in 5G 2022-2035, by TIM type (millions USD)

List of Figures
Figure 1. (L-R) Surface of a commercial heatsink surface at progressively higher magnifications, showing tool marks that create a rough surface and a need for a thermal interface material
Figure 2. Schematic of thermal interface materials used in a flip chip package
Figure 3. Thermal grease
Figure 4. Dispensing a bead of silicone-based gap filler onto the heat sink of a power electronics module
Figure 5. Application of thermal silicone grease
Figure 6. A range of thermal grease products
Figure 7. SWOT analysis for thermal greases and pastes
Figure 8. Thermal Pad
Figure 9. SWOT analysis for thermal gap pads
Figure 10. Dispensing a bead of silicone-based gap filler onto the heat sink of a power electronics module
Figure 11. SWOT analysis for thermal gap fillers
Figure 12. SWOT analysis for Potting compounds/encapsulants
Figure 13. Thermal adhesive products
Figure 14. SWOT analysis for TIM adhesives tapes
Figure 15. Phase-change TIM products
Figure 16. PCM mode of operation
Figure 17. Classification of PCMs
Figure 18. Phase-change materials in their original states
Figure 19. Thermal energy storage materials
Figure 20. Phase Change Material transient behaviour
Figure 21. PCM TIMs
Figure 22. Phase Change Material - die cut pads ready for assembly
Figure 23. SWOT analysis for phase change materials
Figure 24. Typical IC package construction identifying TIM1 and TIM2 71
Figure 25. Liquid metal TIM product
Figure 26. Pre-mixed SLH
Figure 27. HLM paste and Liquid Metal Before and After Thermal Cycling
Figure 28. SLH with Solid Solder Preform
Figure 29. Automated process for SLH with solid solder preforms and liquid metal
Figure 30. SWOT analysis for metal-based TIMs
Figure 31. Schematic diagram of a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)
Figure 32. Schematic of single-walled carbon nanotube
Figure 33. Types of single-walled carbon nanotubes
Figure 34. Schematic of a vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) membrane used for water treatment
Figure 35. Schematic of Boron Nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). Alternating B and N atoms are shown in blue and red
Figure 36. Graphene layer structure schematic
Figure 37. Illustrative procedure of the Scotch-tape based micromechanical cleavage of HOPG
Figure 38. Graphene and its descendants: top right: graphene; top left: graphite = stacked graphene; bottom right: nanotube=rolled graphene; bottom left: fullerene=wrapped graphene
Figure 39. Flake graphite
Figure 40. Applications of flake graphite
Figure 41. Graphite-based TIM products
Figure 42. Structure of hexagonal boron nitride
Figure 43. SWOT analysis for carbon-based TIMs
Figure 44. Classification of metamaterials based on functionalities
Figure 45. Electromagnetic metamaterial
Figure 46. Schematic of Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) structure
Figure 47. Schematic of chiral metamaterials
Figure 48. Nonlinear metamaterials- 400-nm thick nonlinear mirror that reflects frequency-doubled output using input light intensity as small as that of a laser pointer
Figure 49. Schematic of self-healing polymers. Capsule based (a), vascular (b), and intrinsic (c) schemes for self-healing materials. Red and blue colours indicate chemical species which react (purple) to heal damage
Figure 50. Stages of self-healing mechanism
Figure 51. Self-healing mechanism in vascular self-healing systems
Figure 52. Schematic of TIM operation in electronic devices
Figure 53. Schematic of Thermal Management Materials in smartphone
Figure 54. Wearable technology inventions
Figure 55. Global market in consumer electronics 2022-2035, by TIM type (millions USD)
Figure 56. Application of thermal interface materials in automobiles
Figure 57. EV battery components including TIMs
Figure 58. Battery pack with a cell-to-pack design and prismatic cells
Figure 59. Cell-to-chassis battery pack
Figure 60. TIMS in EV charging station
Figure 61. Global market in electric vehicles 2022-2035, by TIM type (millions USD)
Figure 62. Image of data center layout
Figure 63. Application of TIMs in line card
Figure 64. Global market in data centers 2022-2035, by TIM type (millions USD)
Figure 65. ADAS radar unit incorporating TIMs
Figure 66. Global market in ADAS sensors 2022-2035, by TIM type (millions USD)
Figure 67. Coolzorb 5G
Figure 68. TIMs in Base Band Unit (BBU)
Figure 69. Global market in 5G 2022-2035, by TIM type (millions USD)
Figure 70. Boron Nitride Nanotubes products
Figure 71. Transtherm® PCMs
Figure 72. Carbice carbon nanotubes
Figure 73. Internal structure of carbon nanotube adhesive sheet
Figure 74. Carbon nanotube adhesive sheet
Figure 75. HI-FLOW Phase Change Materials
Figure 76. Thermoelectric foil, consists of a sequence of semiconductor elements connected with conductive metal. At the top (in red) is the thermal interface
Figure 77. Parker Chomerics THERM-A-GAP GEL
Figure 78. Metamaterial structure used to control thermal emission
Figure 79. Shinko Carbon Nanotube TIM product
Figure 80. The Sixth Element graphene products
Figure 81. Thermal conductive graphene film
Figure 82. VB Series of TIMS from Zeon

Executive Summary

The effective transfer/removal of heat from a semiconductor device is crucial to ensure reliable operation and to enhance the lifetime of these components. The development of high-power and high-frequency electronic devices has greatly increased issues with excessive heat accumulation. There is therefore a significant requirement for effective thermal management materials to remove excess heat from electronic devices to ambient environment.

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) play a critical role in managing heat and ensuring optimal performance in a wide range of applications. As electronic devices become more compact and powerful, effective thermal management solutions are essential. Thermal interface materials (TIMs) offer efficient heat dissipation to maintain proper functions and lifetime for these devices. TIMs are materials that are applied between the interfaces of two components (typically a heat generating device such as microprocessors, photonic integrated circuits, etc. and a heat dissipating device e.g. heat sink) to enhance the thermal coupling between these devices. 

Companies Mentioned (Partial List)

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:

  • 3M
  • Arieca
  • BNNT
  • Carbice Corporation
  • CondAlign
  • Fujipoly
  • Henkel
  • Indium Corporation
  • KULR Technology Group, Inc.
  • Parker-Hannifin Corporation
  • Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd.
  • SHT Smart High-Tech AB

Methodology

Loading
LOADING...