Breakthrough of High Thermal Conductivity of Oxygen-free Pure Copper
In the field of thermal management, pure copper has always been regarded as the standard material for thermal conductivity. The theoretical thermal conductivity value of oxygen-free pure copper is approximately 401W/(m·K).
However, it was found the pure copper printed parts by high-purity oxygen-free copper powder with SLM technology has a measured thermal conductivity in the printed state that is as high as 442 W/(m·K). This surpasses the performance of all conventional copper alloys, but even exceeds the theoretical limit value of pure copper by more than 10%.
Chemistry of Oxygen-free Pure Copper Powder:
Tested value from Lot No. 20260119-Y of TRUER, produced by PREP.
In traditional understanding, 3D printing (especially SLM technology) evitably introduces defects such as pores and incomplete fusion into the material due to its layer-by-layer solidification characteristic, and also generates grain boundaries. These will result in a significant decline in thermal conductivity.
How can thermal conductivity of Oxygen-free pure copper printed parts exceed the theoretical limit value.
It mainly lies in the control of impurities of the entire process of powder manufacturing:
Proceso de Oxygen-free Pure Copper Powder:
The thermal conductivity is extremely sensitive to impurities. TRUER produces Oxygen-free pure copper powder by advanced PREP technology to control the oxygen content and impurity elements of the powder at extremely low levels. Coupled with excellent particle size distribution and fluidity, this ensures the “pure genetic” nature of the material from the very beginning.
Application of Oxygen-free Pure Copper Powder:
Currently, the heat dissipation design is facing a core contradiction: it is impossible to achieve both a complex structure and the optimal material at the same time.
Traditional manufacturing can process pure copper with high thermal conductivity, but it is unable to produce high-performance radiators with complex conformal flow channels and lightweight lattice structures.
The oxygen-free pure copper powder produced by PREP can achieve almost any complex design by SLM, and high thermal conductivity parts. The thermal conductivity of the printed pure copper components still has potential for improvement.
For the equipment, this means that a higher heat flux density can be handled in a smaller space, providing a foundation for the further miniaturization and high-power application of electronic devices.
For the industry, it provides new materials and options for the next generation of high-heat-flux cooling solutions (such as direct chip cooling, ultra-thin heat spreaders), potentially giving rise to revolutionary cooling architectures.
