Work

Wafer-scale PBF-LB/M additive manufacturing of SnAg3 as thermal interface materials for advanced high-power electronics cooling

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: To support the miniaturization of electronics with increasing power, advanced cooling strategies are needed. Unlike conventional cooling pathways for wafer-scale electronics that involve the use of thermal pastes, we introduce an additive manufacturing route using laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) to fabricate 50–200 µm thick SnAg3 deposits that function as thermal interfaces between the Si substrate and the heat exchanger. The results reveal that by fine tuning the PBF-LB/M process parameters, it is possible to engineer the microstructure of the printed thermal interface materials onto Si wafer and to limit the Si damage. These findings demonstrate a promising solution for wafer-scale additive manufacturing of advanced cooling architectures, enabling the fabrication of high-powder electronics.

Source: Progress in Additive Manufacturing

DOI: 10.1007/s40964-026-01528-8

Authors: Andrea Mistrini, Amin Hodaei, Martina Meisnar, Davoud Jafari, Riccardo Casati

Institutions: Politecnico di Milano, University of Twente, European Space Agency, European Space Research and Technology Centre

Language: English

Topic: Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,590