Patent ID: 6946190

Claim:
A thermal management assembly comprising: a first heat transfer surface having a first area; a second heat transfer surface having a second area and opposing said first heat transfer surface; and a thermally-conductive interface interposed intermediate the first and said second heat transfer surface to provide a thermally-conductive pathway therebetween, the interface having margins smaller than the first and the second area and comprising a thermally-conductive compound formed into a layer which is conformable between the first and second heat transfer surface, the compound comprising an admixture of: (a) a thermal grease component; and (b) a dispersed component forming discrete domains within the thermal grease component, the domains being form-stable at normal room temperature in a first phase and conformable between the first and second heat transfer surface in a second phase, and the domains having a transition temperature above normal room temperature from the first phase to the second phases, wherein the layer has a thickness of about 5 mils (125 μm) or less at about room temperature under a given applied pressure, the thickness decreasing by at least about 20% under the given applied pressure within the operating temperature range of the heat-generating source.