Driven by technological upgrading, the localization process of the high-end domestic thermal interface material market will continue to accelerate.

Thermal interface materials (TIM), also known as thermal interface materials and interface thermal conductive materials, refer to materials that reduce the contact thermal resistance between heat dissipation devices and heating devices. The working principle of thermal interface materials is to fill the air gaps or uneven holes on the joint surface produced when two materials are joined, thereby reducing heat transfer resistance and improving heat dissipation performance.

The common thermal interface materials currently on the market mainly include silicone grease, silica gel, graphite, heat dissipation gaskets, phase change materials, phase change metal sheets, thermal conductive glue, etc. Thermal interface materials are mainly used in communications, automobiles, smartphones, computers, aerospace, national defense and other fields, and have an important impact on the stability, reliability and lifespan of electronic components in various fields.

Currently, under the background of rapid development of domestic technologies such as 5G, big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, and Internet of Vehicles, electronic products are continuously developing in the direction of high integration, high power, and miniaturization. At the same time, the power consumption of their equipment is increasing with the trend. It continues to increase and the calorific value continues to increase. As an important thermal conductive material, thermal interface materials are showing great application prospects in the field of electronic heat dissipation due to their high thermal conductivity, high flexibility and good insulation properties.

In recent years, with the continuous enrichment of domestic smart terminal equipment categories, the application field of thermal interface materials has rapidly expanded, and the penetration rate in industrial smart equipment, household appliances, smart wearable devices and other fields is constantly increasing. According to the “China Thermal Interface Materials Industry Application Market Demand and Development Opportunities Research Report 2022-2026” released by the Industrial Research Center, The domestic thermal interface material market size has reached 1.54 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 17.8%, and the industry is in a stage of rapid development.

Currently, the leading international companies in thermal interface materials include Shin-Etsu, Laird, Almeda, Henkel, Beggs, Dow Corning, Gumeli, etc.; the main local companies include Tianmai Thermal Technology, Sinopec Technology, Aochuan Technology, and Indium Technology Company, Feirongda Technology, Shuoyuan Technology, etc. Thermal interface materials are a technology-intensive industry with high industry barriers. Therefore, the current international and domestic mid-to-high-end markets are still dominated by leading foreign companies with higher technical levels and larger scales. my country’s thermal interface materials industry started relatively late, and most of the local companies are small and medium-sized enterprises with weak technology and small scale, mainly concentrated in the low-end market.

Industrial analysts personnel said that in recent years, as leading local companies have introduced new materials, new technologies, and new equipment into thermal interface materials In the field of thermal interface materials, the quality of domestic thermal interface materials continues to improve and the categories continue to increase. At present, a variety of new high-end thermal interface materials have been domestically produced in China, such as three-dimensional network structure, carbon nanotube-based, indium-based alloy, liquid metal, highly oriented organic polymers, vertically aligned graphene structure thermal interface materials, etc. In the future, as the technical level of local enterprises continues to improve and product research and development capabilities continue to strengthen, the localization level of the domestic high-end thermal interface material market is expected to continue to improve, and the industry has broad prospects for development.