Thermal Compound and Thermal Adhesive  

Thermal compound is a small, but very important part of processor cooling. Since no heatsink or processor has a completely flat surface, thermal interface material is needed to fill fine imperfections between the two surfaces to provide maximum heat transfer. The quality of the thermal compound can affect the amount of heat being transferred. On most new chips, the proper way to apply thermal compound is to apply a small blob in the middle of the processor and then carefully mount the heatsink on top to evenly spread the compound. This method is preferred over pre-spreading the thermal compound due to the possibility of creating small air pockets of processors that have a large surface area.

We also have specialized cleaning and purifying agents from Arctic Silver to properly clean and prepare a surface for new thermal compound. Thermal adhesives are used to permanently attach smaller heatsinks and heatspreaders. For extremely poor surfaces, our lapping kits can flatten and smooth out the contact area for optimal contact area.