Hybrid Heat Sinks The Cold Spray Technique Enables Novel Material Combinations

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Impact Innovations GmbH

FAULHABER Drive Systems

The use of the cold spray technique for manufacturing hybrid heat sinks and busbars represents a significant advancement in power electronics. At the Cooling Days 2025, Michael Dasch from Impact Innovations highlights how this technique meets the demands of modern electronics development.

The Cold Spray technique enables targeted application of copper for the production of heat sinks and busbars. Copper powder is sprayed in solid form below its melting point. This method avoids high temperatures, oxidation, thermal stresses, and phase transformations, allowing for quick and flexible material deposition. Notably, the copper layers produced through the Cold Spray process exhibit nearly the same electrical and thermal properties as the bulk material, with an impressive 98% IACS electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of 368 W/mK. Additionally, it was possible to achieve gas-tight copper deposits with a helium leakage rate of less than 1×10⁻⁷ mbar·l/s.

Advantages Over Traditional Methods

When asked about the advantages over traditional methods such as melting and sintering processes, Michael Dasch explained: "The Cold Spray process allows different materials to be joined, for example, aluminum with pure copper. This enables copper to be applied only where needed, while the rest of the product is entirely made of aluminum. This saves weight and costs."

Another advantage over melting processes is: "Unlike melting processes, the properties of the base materials are largely preserved, as no contamination or oxidation occurs—the entire process is carried out solely through particle deformation." Additionally, the Cold Spray method offers the advantage of partially replacing electroplating, thereby avoiding environmentally harmful waste.

For Forward-Looking Applications

Dasch also emphasizes why cold spray is so relevant in electronics: "The cold spray process is highly efficient with most metals. With copper, an efficiency of over 99% is achieved. This results in enormous cost savings. Due to the cold deformation, the material's conductivity is largely preserved."

In his presentation, Dasch emphasized the "novel combination of materials for coolers" as well as the "reduction of thermal resistance chains" as key points. These aspects make the Cold Spray technique a groundbreaking method in electronics. The economic benefits are also significant: the Cold Spray process for inverter coolers is "already in mass production worldwide, and starting from 2025/2026, over three million aluminum coolers with copper coatings (one per vehicle) can roll off the production line." This means that Cold Spray is not only more environmentally friendly but also cost-efficient, as it allows manufacturers to use less expensive raw materials.

A Novel Material Combination

Participants of the lecture can gain some crucial insights. As Dasch explains: "The key takeaway is novel material combinations. Every heat sink can be rethought in terms of cost and weight." This demonstrates that the cold spray technology not only has a promising future but also already offers significant advantages and savings potential today.

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