2026-09-21T05:06:33Z https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/130202 2026-02-10 col_2142_5131 col_2142_14787 com_2142_5130 com_2142_9630 com_2142_234

application/pdf en text Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2027-08-01 The student, Parth Sandip Patil, accepted the attached license on 2025-07-17 at 10:34. The student, Parth Sandip Patil, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-07-17 at 10:48. This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-07-21 at 09:37. DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22622 on 2025-10-25 at 15:54:15 Wear-resistant thermal interface material (TIM) for quad/octal small form factor pluggable (QSFP/OSFP) modules Patil, Parth Sandip 2025-07-21 Sinha, Sanjiv Thermal Interface Material Diamond Like Carbon Osfp/qsfp Modules Fabrication Thermal Contact Resistance Interface Mechanical Characterization Thermal Characterization Silver Dendrites eng The rapid growth in data throughput and power density in the optical transceiver modules used in modern data centers presents challenges to thermal management that are fast becoming a critical bottleneck for the future. A unique aspect of this thermal management challenge is the development of novel wear-resistant thermal interface materials (TIMs) for pluggable modules that can withstand multiple (>200) insertion/removal events. This thesis presents the design, fabrication, and simulation of a composite TIM comprising diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin-film infilled with patterned silver. The proposed TIM is specifically engineered to simultaneously satisfy the requirements of a relatively high thermal conductivity and high wear resistance and shear strength. We discuss a customized process for a prototype TIM. Materials characterization reveals a hardness of ~21.3 , at a hydrogen content of 30−45%, as well as favorable tribological properties, including low friction and superior wear resistance. Steady-state finite-volume simulations of heat conduction using the ANSYS software show that the effective thermal contact resistance using the TIM ranges from 6.6×10^−4 − 3.3×10^-3 ²/, depending on the fraction of silver coverage. The simulated effective thermal conductivity of the system was found to be between 3 − 16 / confirming its potential to outperform many state-of-the-art TIMs. This work offers a compelling solution for integrating advanced TIMs into next-generation data center optical modules, satisfying both thermal and mechanical requirements. 2025-08 Text https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130202 Copyright 2025 Parth Sandip Patil Mechanical Sci & Engineering Mechanical Engineering University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign M.S. Thesis