Measurement of thermal and electrical contact resistance between conductive materials

Abstract

Recently, the heat generation density of electrical devices has increased along with miniaturization of electrical devices, and thermal management of electronics is important for reliability of electronics. The contact thermal resistance is one of the important parameter for thermal design. In this study, the contact thermal resistance is measured using steady state method. Then, contact electric resistance is measured using the four-terminal method. We investigate the pressure and surface roughness dependency of contact thermal resistance and contact electric resistance. Further the relationship between the contact thermal resistance and the contact electrical resistance is discussed using the theory of Wiedemann-Franz law.