Introduction - Compression characteristics are a key function of gap fillers. Unlike thermal greases, the applications for gap fillers are quite different. Being mindful of compression characteristics and the factors that impact stress is important during the design phase to avoid over-stressing the printed circuit board (PCB).

What are Gap Fillers? Gap fillers are a very specific type of thermal interface material (TIM). They are designed to deform various gaps when dealing with compliancy or flatness issues, providing a thermal heat transfer in the gaps — not just within one assembly, but as variations occur from one assembly to the next. There should not be one pad finetuned to the exact application of an assembly. One gap is chosen, and that gap filler should basically absorb the entire tolerance range for a design.

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