Graphene Heat Spreaders and Interconnects for Advanced Electronic Applications

Graphene revealed a number of unique properties beneficial for electronics, including exceptionally high electron mobility and widely tunable Fermi level. However, graphene does not have an electron energy band gap, which presents a serious hurdle for its applications in digital electronics. A possible route for practical use of graphene in electronics is utilization of its exceptionally high thermal conductivity and electron current conducting properties. This invited review outlines the thermal properties of graphene and describes prospective graphene technologies that are not affected by the absence of the energy band gap. Specific examples include heat spreaders, thermal coatings, high-current density electrodes and interconnects. Our results suggest that thermal management of advanced electronic devices can become the first industry-scale application of graphene.