Effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure and thermal conductivity of Al/diamond composites prepared by spark plasma sintering

Spark plasma sintering was used to fabricate Al/diamond composites. The effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure and thermal conductivity (TC) of the composites was investigated with the combination of experimental results and theoretical analysis. The composite sintered at 550 degrees C shows high relative density and strong interfacial bonding, whereas the composites sintered at lower (520 degrees C) and higher (580-600 degrees C) temperatures indicate no interfacial bonding and poor interfacial bonding, respectively. High relative density and strong interfacial bonding can maximize the thermal conductivity of Al/diamond composites, and taking both effects of particle shape and inhomogeneous interfacial thermal conductance into consideration can give a fairly good prediction of composites' thermal conduction properties.