[T17] Composite/Hybrid Materials

[16D-T17-01] Effect of Hot-forging Temperature on the Microstructure and Thermal Conductivity of Copper/W-coated Diamond Composites

J. Ma¹, R. Torrens¹, L. Bolzoni¹, *F. Yang¹ (1.Waikato University, New Zealand)

Keywords:Copper diamond composites, hot forging, interface characteristics, thermal conductivity

Copper/diamond composites are promising for thermal management in high-performance electronics, but weak interfacial bonding limits their thermal conductivity (TC). To address this, tungsten (W) was introduced to form a tungsten carbide interface between copper and diamond. This study fabricated copper/55vol% W-coated diamond composites via hot forging at 800°C, 950°C, and 1050°C. The results showed that TC of the composites initially increased with rising temperature but then decreased, reaching a peak of 432 W/mK in the 950°C composite, where an optimal interface primarily composed of WC phase with a minor W2C phase was formed. Analysis of the annealed W-coated diamond particles found that the reaction temperature for tungsten-carbon to form tungsten carbide was above 950 °C, and inner stress at the interface could contribute to the formation of tungsten carbide during the hot-forging process. These findings provide key insights for optimizing fabrication parameters in future studies.