Teledyne Labtech Announces New Advanced Graphite Embedding Capability for PCB
Thermal Management
New innovation provides weight savings for applications where size, weight and power (SWaP) are key
Presteigne, Wales – March 15th, 2022 – Teledyne Labtech announces a major new capability allowing the
embedding of layers of synthetic graphite within RF and microwave printed circuit boards (PCBs). Heat
management is a significant concern in many aerospace defense and space applications where size, weight and
power (SWaP) are key attributes. Gallium nitride (GaN) solid state power amplifiers (SSPAs) are examples of
increasingly common devices that benefit from careful heat management. This new technique allows efficient
conduction of heat away from such devices, saving system weight and increasing their lifetime.
Managing waste heat is a significant problem in today’s electronic systems, impacting reliability and requiring
added expense and weight to control effectively. In the latest consumer mobile phones, it is common to employ
sheets of self-adhesive synthetic graphite on top of critical semiconductor devices in order to conduct away waste
heat from small areas. Aerospace, defense and space applications require more precision, repeatability and area
of coverage. To address this, Teledyne Labtech has developed a method of embedding thin layers of synthetic
graphite inside the structure of the host PCB reliably, saving size and weight, while increasing the lifetime of
active devices (MTBF) by permitting operation at cooler steady state.
“Synthetic graphite is 4 times lighter than copper, and transfers heat 4 times better in the X-Y plane,” said John
Priday, CTO of Teledyne Labtech. “Replacing PCB ground plane layers with it in critical applications such as T/R
modules can cause devices to run up to 20 °C cooler in our testing.”
Labtech has demonstrated that thermal copper layers can be replaced with the new graphite technique while
remaining reliable and experiencing minimal impact on the passage of microwave signals on grounding layers.
Teledyne Labtech will be available to discuss this new innovation at Booth 1324 of the Satellite Show in
Washington, DC, March 22nd-24th.
