Liquid Cooling Deep Dive (II): Thermal Interface Materials—Revaluing TIM in the High Heat-Flux Era of Near-Chip Thermal Management
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Sinolink Securities' second liquid-cooling deep dive argues that as power and packaging density rise across AI GPUs/ASICs, HBM and high-speed optical modules, thermal management is shifting from gap-filling conduction to low-thermal-resistance system optimization, revaluing thermal interface materials (TIM) in near-chip applications. TIM selection must balance bulk material properties, bond-line thickness, contact thermal resistance and reliability. Polymer-based TIMs remain the most widely used and mature route—diamond powder fillers can markedly lift conductivity—while carbon-based materials are the next high-performance frontier: graphene pads reach 130 W/(m·K). Metal-based TIMs such as liquid metal offer low thermal resistance near the chip but face mass-production bottlenecks in packaging reliability and automation. Suppliers with high-performance, scalable products are capturing fat margins: in 2025 some leading suppliers' thermal-materials revenue grew 185% with gross margins up to 73%; Hongfucheng's 2025 thermal materials and devices revenue grew 185%. The global graphene market may reach $1.47 billion in 2026, and liquid metal continues to be validated in AI-server cooling. Recommended names: Hongfucheng, Kechuang Xinyuan, Jones Tech, FRD and Darbond.
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