Raytheon Company

E Dean Johnston

Ralph D Hermansen

Steven E Lau

Richard F Davis

Deborah S Huff

An adhesive and method for attaching a heat sink to a printing wiring assembly that provides a thermal path from electronic components on the printing wiring assembly to the heat sink. The adhesive is flexible and accommodates thermal expansion stresses and is readily reworkable. The adhesive comprises a filler material that is disposed between the heat sink and the printing wiring assembly, and an impregnant that impregnates the filler material, which impregnated filler material is cured. The filler material may comprise alumina particles that have a spherical shape. The impregnant comprises a polymer, typically selected from a group of epoxy resins and their curatives that form a flexible material when cured. In practicing the method, a heat sink is positioned adjacent to and spaced apart from a printing wiring assembly to provide an appropriate spacing between them. The periphery of the printing wiring assembly is sealed. A cavity that is formed between the heat sink and the printing wiring assembly is filled with a filler material. The filled assembly is vibrated to maximize packing density of the filler material. The filler material is then impregnated with a flexible epoxy impregnant. The impregnant is then cured to form the flexible adhesive. This produces a structure wherein the heat sink is bonded to the printed wiring assembly.

Reworkable, thermally-conductive adhesives for electronic assemblies

A flexible, electrically-conductive, one-component epoxy adhesive composition and method for making the same are provided. The present adhesive composition comprises: (a) at least one polyepoxide resin having a hardness not exceeding a durometer Shore D reading of about 45 when cured with a stoichiometric amount of diethylene triamine; (b) a substantially stoichiometric amount of curing agent including at least one amine-terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile polymer; and (c) an electrically-conductive filler. The epoxy adhesive, upon cure, has a volume resistivity not exceeding about 10.sup.-3 ohm-cm at room temperature and a drop resistance such that a 6-mil-thick (0.015 cm) bond effected by the adhesive can withstand at least six 60-inch (152 cm) drops onto a hard surface. Optional components in the epoxy adhesive include secondary rigid and semi-rigid epoxy resins, secondary amine curing agents, non-reactive flexibilizers, diluents, and processing aids. The adhesive bonds achieved using these epoxy adhesives are non-brittle, flexible, resilient, and drop-resistant, while also exhibiting strong adhesion and good processing characteristics.

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Fullerton, CA, United States of America

E Dean Johnston