The study of energy storage and temperature-controlled for the packaging plate with Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials

Due to the development of high power density and high heat flux of MEMS, IC and LED components and devices, the thermal management of microelectronics has become a very critical issue in Microsystems and optoelectronic industries. This has lead to the requirement of high thermal performance materials. To enhance the thermal performance of current thermal modules, it is very important to develop advanced thermal management materials to replace the conventional monolithic materials. Materials possess the characteristics of energy storage during the phase change process, which is used to control a constant temperature to achieve the result of energy-conservation. Microencapsulation is a technique to enclose phase change materials with high polymer shell wall to form the micro-capsules, which call Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials (MPCM). By mixing MPCM into matrix materials, it can be applied to the temperature control for systems. In this study, the MPCM was manufactured as powder with 10-30 μm size. Composite materials with MPCM were explored. The study found that the structure of MPCM was not destroyed during the process of manufacturing. In addition, the thermal behavior of the composite materials was explored. The study found that the time to reach the thermal steady state of the composite materials with MPCM was delayed compared the material without MPCM. It also found that the more percentage of MPCM, the longer time to reach steady state. In addition, the heat transfer efficient at the solid state of MPCM was lower than that at liquid state. This is quite different heat transfer behavior compare with bulk size of the material. Such results give potential applications for thermal control of microelectronics packaging, thermal managements for modern microsystems technologies and green house energy conservation.