Thermal adhesive tape

Tape wins on assembly speed and reworkability — peel the liner, place the part, no cure time, no mess, no cleanup. It's the right choice for high-volume lines where a drop of grease would be slow to dispense or when the assembled product needs to be repaired (a tape-bonded heatsink can be peeled off and re-attached). Tape is NOT the right choice for the lowest possible thermal resistance (grease at 5+ W/m·K or 50 µm bondline beats the best 1.6 W/m·K tape on most metrics) or for rough / non-flat surfaces (tape only seats on what it touches).

TIA600 family uses acrylic adhesive, rated for sustained service around 100 – 110 °C with quick tack and excellent bond strength on plastics and painted metals. TIA800 family uses silicone adhesive, rated for sustained service to 150 – 180 °C with better high-temp tack retention but slightly lower instant bond strength. λ across both families is similar (0.8 – 0.9 W/m·K) for all-adhesive and fiberglass variants; the standout is TIA800AL with an aluminum-foil carrier that lifts λ to 1.6 W/m·K by adding a metal heat-spreading layer.

The carrier is the substrate sandwiched between two adhesive layers. -FG (fiberglass) adds dimensional stability and tear strength — easier to die-cut and handle, especially on long thin strips. -P (polyester / PET) is the thinnest carrier, halfway between all-adhesive and FG in robustness, used where total stack-up thickness is tight. -AL (aluminum foil) is a heat-spreading layer that lifts λ but blocks dielectric performance — only use TIA800AL where electrical isolation is provided by another layer. No-suffix grades (TIA600, TIA800) are all-adhesive — lowest thermal resistance but most fragile to handle.

Total tape thickness runs 0.13 – 0.30 mm depending on grade. Thermal resistance scales linearly with thickness divided by λ — a 0.13 mm tape at 0.9 W/m·K gives roughly 1.4 °C·in²/W, while a 0.20 mm tape at 1.6 W/m·K gives roughly 1.6 °C·in²/W. The thinnest stack-up is usually the all-adhesive grade; the FG and AL carriers add 30 – 70 µm. Specify the per-grade datasheet for exact thermal impedance figures (ASTM D5470 method).

Yes for short re-work (within hours of placement) — the PSA stays tacky and a fresh tape can be applied if the original is removed cleanly. Long-term reworkability degrades as the adhesive flows and forms permanent bonds, especially under thermal cycling. For genuinely re-workable joints, plan to refresh the tape on each disassembly. If the joint must be removable many times, switch to a phase-change material or a clamped pad rather than a PSA tape.

All TIA grades bond well to clean metals (aluminum, copper, steel, anodised aluminum), painted surfaces, FR4 PCBs, and most engineering plastics (ABS, PC, PA, PBT). Surface energy matters — silicones, fluoropolymers (PTFE), and untreated polyolefins (PE, PP) require primer or surface treatment. For maximum bond strength, wipe the substrate with isopropyl alcohol, allow to dry, apply the tape with firm thumb pressure (≥ 15 psi for 5 seconds), and allow 24 h dwell at room temperature for full bond development.