Temperature Dependence of Electrical and Thermal Conductivities of an Epoxy-Based Isotropic Conductive Adhesive

The temperature dependence of the transport properties, including electrical and thermal conductivities, of a practical isotropic conductive adhesive (ICA) including an epoxy-based binder was investigated in order to comprehensively evaluate the physical changes induced during exposure to elevated temperatures. The ICA specimens were cured and post-annealed under various conditions in order to clarify the effect of curing state of the adhesive binder on the electrical resistivity. The electrical resistivity at ambient temperature tends to decrease with increasing curing temperature, even if the samples exhibit full conversion. In addition, an annealing effect, resulting in a deviation from a linear relationship in the temperature dependence of resistivity, can be induced during the heating process experienced during resistivity measurements. However, the ICA specimens exhibited similar values for the temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR), regardless of the curing and post-annealing conditions in the temperature range where the annealing effect is rarely induced, although the thermal history of the specimens significantly influences the absolute values of electrical resistivity. The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity is almost accounted for by the decrease in the contribution of conducting electrons in the temperature range below the glass-transition temperature, Tg.