Copper-diamond Composite with Complex Shape by Gelcasting Plus Spark Plasma Sintering

The trend of miniaturization in electronics is creating challenges in cooling and temperature control, prompting the need for advanced materials. Copper-diamond composites, with their high thermal conductivity of up to 700 W/(mK), offer a promising solution. Recent efforts in developing a process to integrate 60 vol.% diamond copper-diamond composites into additive manufacturing through gel casting and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS ) paves a new way. The resulting structures demonstrated a thermal conductivity of 688 W/(mK) and a density of 5.1 g/cm³, significantly outperforming pure copper. This approach enables the creation of complex, high-performance cooling components for various applications, including microelectronics and e-mobility. The process can also be adapted to other high-thermal conductivity materials.