Study of CVD diamond films for thermal management in power electronics

Because of its high thermal conductivity and dielectric strength, diamond is a promising material for thermal management in high voltage, high power electronics. In this paper we present our investigation of CVD polycrystalline diamond films for heat sink applications. Dielectric strength and thermal conductivity have been measured at room temperature, for either home made or commercial samples. Though the measured dielectric strength remains lower than the 10 MV/cm expected value (greatly impacted by the surface polishing), the interest of diamond is confirmed.