Data Center Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) Solutions

Densely deployed servers in data centers face severe heat dissipation challenges when running high-load tasks. Overheating can cause servers to throttle to prevent hardware damage and reduce efficiency; long-term high temperatures can accelerate equipment aging and increase the risk of failure and downtime.

To this end, advanced thermal management solutions have become key to ensuring data center performance, reliability, and sustainability. This article will analyze how to optimize data center heat dissipation through innovative thermal interface materials (TIMs). 

Challenges of current solutions As data centers continue to expand to meet the growing needs of modern computing, traditional thermal management solutions have exposed obvious flaws. Traditional heat dissipation methods, such as metal-to-metal interfaces, have difficulty coping with the higher heat generation of advanced hardware. These materials are often unable to completely fill microscopic gaps, resulting in poor thermal conductivity.

Phase change film aging: After repeated plugging and unplugging of pluggable optical modules (POMs), the material performance deteriorates and volatile substances may be released to contaminate precision electronic components.

In addition, these traditional methods are generally unable to handle the higher power density of new transceiver designs, which may exceed 20W or even 35W per module. Since each line card can accommodate up to 32 modules, cumulative heat load becomes a key challenge. These inefficiencies lead to overheating, increased energy consumption and rising cooling costs, ultimately affecting the performance and sustainability of the data center. For example, a leading switch manufacturer urgently needs new TIMs to reduce the operating temperature by more than 5°C for its 20W transceiver application.

The core value of TIMs in data centers Thermally conductive interface materials break through the heat dissipation bottleneck by filling the air gap between the heating element and the heat sink, achieving three core benefits: Avoid performance degradation: Prevent the processor from reducing frequency due to overheating and ensure stable computing power output. Extend hardware life: Reduce thermal stress damage, reduce equipment failure rate and replacement costs. Improve energy efficiency and sustainability: After optimizing heat dissipation efficiency, the energy consumption of the cooling system is reduced, supporting the greening goal of the data center.

Six types of TIMs solutions and application scenarios

Micro-TIM: Ultra-thin and durable film, used for the interface between optical modules and heat sinks, cooling down by 0.33°C per watt (15W modules can reduce 5°C), suitable for 400Gb high-speed switching systems. Thermal grease: Fills the gap between CPU/GPU and heat sink, with high thermal conductivity (stable from -40°C to 200°C), small BLT, and low thermal resistance.

Thermal gel: High-viscosity silicone-based material, vacuum and bubble-free, with thermal conductivity ranging from 6.0 to 15W/m·K, suitable for batch application in automated production lines.

Phase change material (PCM): Solid at room temperature, melts during operation, suitable for high-heat chips such as ASIC/FPGA, and replaces silicone grease without residue.

Thermal pad: Pre-formed and easy to install, low modulus and high thermal conductivity, suitable for integrated circuits (ICs) without large heat sinks.

Thermally conductive adhesive (TCA): It has both mechanical bonding and thermal conductivity (0.1~60 W/m·K), and is used in scenarios such as SMD mounting, heat sink binding, and LED packaging.

Key selection indicators Thermal conductivity (W/m·K): The higher the value, the stronger the heat dissipation capacity. Construction convenience: Reworkability affects maintenance efficiency, and gel and preformed pads are easier to operate. Durability: It needs to withstand high temperature, mechanical extrusion and other working stress. Environmental compliance: Halogen-free and RoHS-compliant materials are preferred.

How to choose the best TIMs? Clear requirements: Screen material types based on heating power (such as 20W/module), space constraints and ambient temperature. Test verification: Use thermal imagers to locate hot spots and simulate actual working conditions to test TIMs performance attenuation. Supply chain collaboration: Cooperate with experienced suppliers such as Prostech to obtain customized solutions and production line integration support.

Industry trends and future prospects High-density heat dissipation: 5G and AI drive the power of a single cabinet to exceed 30kW, and new materials such as liquid metal and graphene are accelerating penetration. Intelligent management: TIMs are linked with temperature sensors and AI tuning systems to achieve dynamic thermal control. Sustainable development: The development of bio-based degradable TIMs is accelerated to reduce electronic waste pollution.

Through scientific selection and innovative material application, data centers can break through the heat dissipation ceiling and move towards a new era of efficiency, reliability and greenness.