Patent ID: 8039961

Claim:
An article of manufacture, comprising: a copper substrate plug with a front surface and a back surface; a first adhesion layer that contacts the front surface of the copper substrate plug, wherein the first adhesion layer has a thickness between 200 and 5000 Å and comprises Ti, TiN, Cr, or Ta; a diffusion barrier layer that contacts the first adhesion layer, wherein the diffusion barrier layer has a thickness between 100 and 400 Å and comprises TiN, SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , or TaN; a catalyst on top of the diffusion barrier layer, wherein the catalyst has a thickness between 30 and 1000 Å and comprises Ni, Fe, or Co; and a thermal interface material on top of a single surface of the copper substrate plug; wherein the thermal interface material comprises: a layer of carbon nanotubes that contacts the catalyst, and a filler material located between the carbon nanotubes; wherein the carbon nanotubes are oriented substantially perpendicular to the front surface of the copper substrate plug; and wherein the copper substrate plug is configured to be incorporated in a peripheral structure of a heat spreader.