Enhanced heat dissipation and lowered power consumption in electronics using two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride coatings

TL;DR

This paper introduces a scalable, low-cost method using 2D hexagonal boron nitride coatings to significantly improve heat dissipation and reduce power consumption in electronic devices, demonstrated on a circuit board.

Contribution

It presents a novel, scalable coating technique with hBN that enhances thermal conductivity and reduces operating temperatures in electronics.

Findings

Thermal conductivity increased from below 0.3 to 260 W/m-K.

Over 2x increase in heat flux and heat transfer.

17.4% reduction in power consumption in a circuit board.

Abstract

Miniaturization of electronic components has led to overheating, increasing power consumption and causing early circuit failures. Conventional heat dissipation methods are becoming inadequate due to limited surface area and higher short-circuit risks. This study presents a fast, low-cost, and scalable technique using 2D hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) coatings to enhance heat dissipation in commercial electronics. Inexpensive hBN layers, applied by drop casting or spray coating, boost thermal conductivity at IC surfaces from below 0.3 W/m-K to 260 W/m-K, resulting in over double the heat flux and convective heat transfer. This significantly reduces operating temperatures and power consumption, as demonstrated by a 17.4% reduction in a coated audio amplifier circuit board. Density functional theory indicates enhanced interaction between 2D hBN and packaging materials as a key factor. This approach promises substantial energy and cost savings for large-scale electronics without altering existing manufacturing processes.