double sided thermal tape?

[nrg2009]

Hi,

Does anyone have experience with double sided thermal tape for mounting mosfets to a heatsink?
I found this product and not being an expert it looked promissing to me: "Ther-A-Grip™ 1050"

My project is a class A mosfet amplifier.

Thanks for any help.

 

[nrg2009]

The mosfets I'm using are IRFP244, for a Aleph2 clone. Any contributors for this topic?

 

[U102324]

If you can avoid thermal washers and use a separate heat sink per device it is by far better. Any insulating device will de-rate the thermal conductivity between device and heat sink.

 

[RJM1]

I'd be worried about the logn term adhesive properties and resistance to vibration.
From the pdf.

Ther-A-Grip 1050 and 1070, when you need to attach a heat sink to an electrical package, consider Ther-A-Grip doublesided
tape.Ther-A-Grip 1050 uses a thin, Kapton MT-filled, polydimide film coated on both sides with pressure-sensitive, acrylic
adhesive loaded with aluminum oxide for good thermal performance and excellent electrical isolation.Ther-A-Grip 1070 consists
of a thin aluminum foil coated with aluminum oxide-filled, acrylic adhesive for electrical conductivity and enhanced thermal
conductivity.

http://www.chiptech.com/secondary/manu-prod_pdf/A/AAVID.pdf

 

[nrg2009]

I got a sample of the 1050 tape. It is very very thin, but supposedly electrically non-conductive. What are your thoughts on the thermal properties?

Thanks

 

[RJM1]

From the data sheet it looks good. But I wonder about it's long term stability.

 

[nrg2009]

Wow this Aavid Ther A Grip 1050 is very strong. I did a little test run with one device. It is tough to pull off after i stuck it on. I cleaned both surfaces with an alcohol wipe prior to sticking it on anodized aluminum.

Im going to use it on my Aleph 2 project, im convinced it will hold the driver boards.

 

[stratus46]

If you can avoid thermal washers and use a separate heat sink per device it is by far better. Any insulating device will de-rate the thermal conductivity between device and heat sink.

I know for a fact that separate heatsinks with bipolar transistors in parallel is a BAD idea as it assures thermal runaway. Are MOSFETs immune from this problem?

G²

 

[AndrewT]

1050 and clamp bars will be more reliable in the very long term.

 

[nrg2009]

Andrew, I appreciate your feedback, I agree. I will work on some clamp bars.
I would hate to have the amp fail because the mosfets got disconnected from the heatsink.