Thermal interface gap fillers are materials designed to fill the gap between surfaces, components or housing joints in order to improve heat transfer. Air pockets, no matter how small can ‘trap’ heat by increasing thermal resistance and therefore filling this gap with a specialist heat transfer material will increase thermal conductivity, dissipating heat away from the target area in order to cool the component.

Generally gap filler material is thicker than standard thermal paste, to ensure stability in thicker films. It is important that the material is still applied at the thinnest layer required to fill the gap, in order to achieve maximum efficiency of heat transfer. These materials are most commonly applied using a syringe or needle applicator.

Electrolube’s range includes RTV curing materials which may also double up as a gap filling material.

As with all thermal interface materials we would advise that you test any product you select thoroughly, as each application will vary from the next and figures quoted on a TDS may not match the results in the ‘real’ operating environment.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Technical Support Team, or alternately we have some great articles available:

• Thermal Management FAQ’s
• Thermal Management Technical Articles
• Thermal Management Blogs