Graphene Thermal Interface Materials – State-of-the-Art and Application Prospects

We provide a summary of the fundamentals of thermal management, outline the state-of-the-art in the field of thermal interface materials, and describe recent developments in graphene-based non-curing and curing composites used for thermal management. The discovery of unique heat conduction properties of graphene and few-layer graphene motivated research activities worldwide focused on creating efficient graphene-based thermal interface materials. While the initial focus of these studies was on obtaining the maximum possible thermal conductivity of the composites, recently the attention has shifted to practical problems of minimizing the thermal contact resistance at interfaces, optimizing the size distribution of graphene as filler, and addressing the issues of scalability, stability, and production costs at commercial scales. We conclude the review with a general outlook for commercial applications of graphene in the thermal management of electronics.