METALLIC THERMAL INTERFACE MATERIALS AND ASSOCIATED DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS

A heat-transfer component defines a thermal-interface surface and has a composite thermal-interface material bonded to the thermal-interface surface. The composite thermal-interface material comprises a particulate filler material dispersed within a metallic carrier material. With a thermal-interface material bonded to the thermal-interface surface, the thermal-contact resistance between the thermal-interface material and the heat-transfer component can be reduced compared to conventional thermal-interface materials, including conventional metallic thermal-interface materials. The particulate filler material can have a higher bulk thermal conductivity than the metallic carrier material and can be wetted by the metallic carrier material, providing a bulk thermal conductivity of the composite thermal-interface material that is higher than that of the carrier material without the particulate filler material. Such materials can relieve thermally induced mechanical stresses across an interface between materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion. Some electrical devices include a heat generating component cooled by such a heat-transfer component.