Role of interfacial nanostructure in diamond based composites for thermal management applications

New materials are being developed with the aim of achieving high thermal conductivity and strength to weight ratio for use in the miniaturized electronic devices. These include diamond based composites that were produced by a liquid metal infiltration process to achieve such benefits and higher production rate as compared to traditional materials and alloys. In this study it was noted that reactivity of synthetic diamond single crystals with liquid aluminum is very distinct for diamond (100) and (111) faces respectively. The role of preferential interfacial reaction of aluminum on the diamond surface that occurred during production is explained with the help of a careful investigation of the nanostructure and phases. (author)