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------Question for GCS-040-2.0 Please Put your question below------
Hello,
I am wondering if a silicone thermal pad can be used within a vacuum chamber with a low possibility of outgassing. The project I am working on is a vacuum chamber with a peltier cooler inside being used to cool a silicon chip. I want to attach a heat sink to the cooler and the chassis housing the device and cooler, but I am nervous about if the heat being dissipated from the cooler will go to the rest of the metal chassis and not just the heat sink. I think we are doing a high vacuum, about 10^-6 torr, for our experiment at the highest range for our vacuum, but we can potentially do lower as well. I am additionally trying to decide if there are any good insulators as to prevent heat from entering the system. I apologize if I do not sound the most knowledgeable on this subject.
It’s hard to know for certain if there will be an issue. From research, silicone doesn’t respond well to high vacuum conditions. The datasheet doesn’t cover pressure conditions or specify outgassing. The part you are selecting may not be the best use case.
As for the thermal question, that is a separate issue. You could probably use any kind of non-thermally conductive material or minimally conductive material as an insulator. I’d advise looking through research materials before moving forward.
Understood, I was researching other kinds of of insulators that did not outgas to a high degree, but thank you for the suggestions and advice, I appreciate it!
It’s not so much a question of “if” but rather “how much.” Even solid metals can pose issues from a vacuum maintenance perspective past a certain point.
The expected structure of the assembly is unclear, but experience suggests a high potential for critical misunderstandings in thermal management applications. If the goal is to keep a piece of silicon at sub-ambient temperatures under vacuum using a peltier device, one likely needs to be less concerned with preventing heat from getting in, than ensuring that one’s able to get the heat that’s being deliberately added via the peltier supply out.
