HAVERHILL, SUFFOLK, UK -- Electronics thermal management developer Cambridge Nanotherm will build its first prototype manufacturing plant here following £250,000 in matched funding from a UK agency.

The Technology Strategy Board, a body that provides funding for business-led innovation, provided the grant. TSB is a public entity that is not directly part of the UK government.

The site will be used to build Cambridge Nanotherm's patented nanoceramic-aluminum substrate for thermal management of electronics, which is said to offer the potential for major cost reductions and environmental benefits.

The technology uses a proprietary nano-ceramic coating process to create a dielectric layer directly on to the surface of an aluminium substrate. The nano-ceramic dielectric layer is two to 10 times thinner than conventional layers and has a reported thermal resistance of 0.014 Ccm²/W and dielectric thermal conductivity of 7 W/mK, the latter of which is up to three times higher than conventional metal-backed printed circuit board dielectric materials.

The new facility will act as a development platform for electronic applications of Nanotherm technology such as LED lighting and power electronics, and will demonstrate the manufacturability of Nanotherm substrates in a volume production environment to potential licensees of the technology.

The prototype manufacturing line will be capable of producing innovative MB PCB materials with ceramic dielectric as well as circuit-on-heat-sink substrates.

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