Indium Experts to Address Data Center Thermal Management and Sintering Standards at SMTA Conference

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

As a leading materials provider for the advanced electronic packaging market, Indium Corporation® experts will share their technical insight and knowledge on two critical industry topics—data center thermal management and sintering protocols—at the SMTA Electronics in Harsh Environments Conference, May 19-21, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Thursday, May 21

10 a.m. CEST – AI Data Center ASIC Cooling – Advanced Solder TIMs presented by Karthik Vijay, Senior Technical Manager, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

As AI data centers push the limits of high-power ASIC performance, advanced solder-based thermal interface materials (sTIMs) are emerging as a critical solution. Unlike traditional thermal greases and polymer PCMs, indium-based sTIMs deliver 86W/mK conductivity with no performance degradation over time. This presentation examines three sTIM forms—compressible patterned foils, reflowable solders, and liquid metals—to determine their reliability capabilities for next-generation thermal management for direct-chip and immersion-cooling applications.

11:15 a.m. CEST – IEC Protocols: A Study to Establish Standards for Sintering Protocols presented by Andreas Karch, Regional Technical Manager and Technologist – Advanced Applications.

As electrification in power electronics brings ever-increasing reliability requirements, sintering is gaining importance as a high-performance alternative to soldering, enabling the operation of chips at temperatures above 200°C in SiC and GaN applications for the automotive industry. However, unlike soldering, the sintering process lacks industry-wide standards for mass production. This presentation describes the research conducted by the DKE working group and the IEC on the standardization of sintering processes, including pressure-assisted, pressureless, and pressure sintering processes, materials, equipment, test methods, and the evaluation of joint quality.

About the Presenters

Karthik Vijay is responsible for technology programs and technical support for customers in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. His expertise is in automotive, industrial, and RF applications involving PCBA and power electronics with a focus on the use of different material sets, including solder preforms, solder paste, thermal interface materials, and semiconductor-grade electronics materials.

Andreas Karch provides technical support to customers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, sharing process knowledge and technical guidance and application recommendations for Indium Corporation’s complete portfolio of solder paste, solder preforms, fluxes, and thermal management materials.