Metal-Carbon Composites

Carbon in the modification of diamond has a high intrinsic heat conductivity combined with a low coefficient of thermal expansion. It is used as a strengthening element in metals like copper and aluminium in the production of isotropic materials for thermal management with heat productivity more than 600 W/mK in combination with a coefficient of thermal expansion lower than 10 ppm/K. Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden specifically applies suitable carbide formers to modify the interface between metals and diamond. The increase of diamond content in the composite results in a difficult machinability. Therefore, a near-net-shape fabrication is preferred.