POS7-0797
DMD-based Maskless Lithography of Three Dimensional Boron Nitride Microarchitectures for Enhanced Thermal Percolation
Topic
S7. Innovations in Polymeric Composites: From Design and Processing to Industrial Applications
When and Where
Oct 1, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Jinkee HONG
Ki Su KIM
Presenter(s)
Hyorin Kim (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Thermal interface materials (TIMs) require both high thermal conductivity and electrical insulation for efficient thermal management of electronic devices. Accordingly, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a widely used thermally conductive filler, but conventional strategies rely on aligning individual fillers, where abundant filler–filler interfaces hinder continuous thermal percolation and limit heat transport. To address this limitation, constructing larger and more continuous h-BN networks has been considered a promising strategy for reducing interfacial resistance and promoting continuous heat-transfer pathways. Here, we present a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD)-based maskless lithography strategy for fabricating three-dimensional h-BN microarchitectures designed to facilitate thermal percolation. Preliminary studies using elastomeric composites containing h-BN particles of different sizes indicated improved heat-transfer behavior with increasing particle size, supporting the strategy of constructing larger h-BN microarchitectures for thermal transport. Based on this concept, photocurable h-BN/polymer composites were patterned into microarchitectures (~ 300 μm in diameter) and calcined to remove the sacrificial polymer, yielding self-supporting h-BN frameworks. Structural analysis confirmed that the resulting h-BN frameworks retained their morphology after calcination while forming interconnected h-BN networks throughout the cross-section. FT-IR analysis confirmed effective removal of the sacrificial polymer while retaining characteristic h-BN peaks. The resulting frameworks exhibited an increased h-BN fraction and interconnected h-BN pathways, which are expected to provide efficient heat-transfer pathways. These results demonstrate that lithographically engineered h-BN frameworks form thermal percolation pathways, offering promise for thermal management systems and conformal thermal interface materials (TIMs).
