Today, the microelectronics industry uses higher functioning frequencies in commercialized components. These frequencies result in higher functioning temperatures and, therefore, limit a component’s integrity and lifetime. Until now, heat-sink materials were composed of metals which exhibit high thermal conductivities (TC). However, these metals often induce large coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatches between the heat sink and the non-metallic components of the device.  Such differences in CTEs cause thermomechanical stresses at the interfaces and result in component failure after several on/off cycles.
To overcome this issue, one solution is to replace the metallic heat sink materials by a metal matrix composites (MMCs), specifically, carbon-reinforced aluminium matrix (Al/C) which exhibit optimized thermomechanical properties. Moreover, due to his low density, 2.7 g/cm3, Al has a high specific thermal conductivity (TC divided by density) and low cost which are great advantages in terms of the fabrication of mobile electronic devices for automobile or aeronautic industries.
Carbon fibres (CF) and graphite flakes (GF) were preferred to diamond particles because of their low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), high thermal conductivity (TC), and a good machinability. These reinforcements will allow to develop composite materials that fulfill the requirements related to the field of power electronics. However, the anisotropic thermal properties of these reinforcements may generate a strong influence of the reinforcement orientation on the macroscopic thermal properties of the MMC 1-4. Moreover, the oxide layer on Al particles inhibits Al-C reactivity. Therefore, the areas of research discussed in this work are:
•    Orientation optimization of anisotropic reinforcements by a microstructural design
•    Use of pure Al and Al + Mg matrices
•    Development of composite materials with mixed reinforcement (GF + FC) to evaluate the influence of the combination of the two reinforcements on the thermomechanical properties.
•    Elaboration of composite materials by liquid phase sintering in order to optimize interfacial properties and the densification of composite materials with high carbon content.