How do you measure the real-world performance of a thermal interface material? This webinar explains how the TIM-Tester evaluates thermal interface materials in accordance with ASTM D5470, helping engineers understand how a material performs under application-relevant temperature, pressure, thickness, and interface conditions.
Thermal conductivity alone does not provide a complete picture of TIM performance. The total thermal path can also be influenced by thermal contact resistance, bond-line thickness, surface finish, compression, curing, temperature, aging, pump-out, and delamination.
In this educational webinar, Dr. Genesis Infante, Lab Manager at Thermal Analysis Labs, explains the steady-state measurement principles behind ASTM D5470 and demonstrates how the TIM-Tester measures:
• Thermal impedance and specific thermal resistance
• Apparent and bulk thermal conductivity
• Thermal contact resistance
• Bond-line thickness
• Performance at different pressures and temperatures
• Compression, expansion, and cyclic loading behaviour
• Curing, thermal aging, mechanical aging, and delamination
The session also explains how measurements at multiple bond-line thicknesses can separate the bulk resistance of a material from the contact resistance at its interfaces. This provides a more complete understanding of why a TIM with a strong datasheet value may perform differently after it is installed in an actual assembly.
Application examples include thermal greases, gap fillers, thermal pads, adhesives, thin-film TIMs, liquid metals, coating layers, dielectric bond sheets, and other thermal management materials. The webinar also covers studies involving curing, surface finish, gap-width changes, tensile stress, thermal cycling, long-term compression, and material degradation.
These testing capabilities can support:
• TIM material selection and comparison
• Supplier datasheet validation
• Product development and formulation
• Quality control and incoming material inspection
• Electronics and semiconductor packaging
• AI and high-performance computing systems
• EV batteries and power electronics
• Aerospace and other high-reliability applications
Learn more about the TIM-Tester:
https://ctherm.com/zfw-tim-tester
Request a quotation or discuss your TIM testing application:
https://ctherm.com/contact/request-quotation
Keywords: thermal interface material testing, TIM testing, TIM-Tester, ASTM D5470, thermal impedance, thermal resistance, thermal conductivity, apparent thermal conductivity, bulk thermal conductivity, thermal contact resistance, bond-line thickness, gap filler testing, thermal grease testing, thermal pad testing, thermal adhesive testing, TIM compression testing, TIM aging, TIM delamination, electronics cooling, semiconductor packaging, AI data center cooling, EV thermal management, power electronics, thermal management materials
This webinar aired on August 4, 2026 2:00 pm GMT-3.
Watch here: