Copper Heat Sink vs Aluminium Heat Sink | Difference between Copper Heatsink and Aluminium Heatsink

This page compares Copper Heat Sink vs Aluminium Heat Sink and mentions difference between Copper Heat Sink and Aluminium Heat Sink.

Heat sink is the structure used to transfer heat generated by electronic device or circuit to air or liquid. As heat is dissipated or driven away from the device it helps in maintaining optimum temperature of the device (e.g. CPU, GPU and other computer parts). Heat sink is made of either copper or aluminium.

Copper Heat Sink

Copper heat sink

The figure-1 depicts copper heat sink. Following are the thermal and mechanical properties of copper used in heat sink.
• Bulk thermal conductivity (W/m*K) : 391
• Specific thermal conductivity (W/m*K)/(g/cm3) : 45
• Density (g/cm3) : 8.9
• Tensile strength (Mpa) : 270

Aluminium Heat Sink

Aluminium heat sink

The figure-2 depicts aluminium heat sink. Following are the thermal and mechanical properties of aluminium used in heat sink.
• Bulk thermal conductivity (W/m*K) : 180
• Specific thermal conductivity (W/m*K)/(g/cm3) : 63
• Density (g/cm3) : 2.8
• Tensile strength (Mpa) : 180

Following points mention difference between copper heat sink and aluminium heat sink.
➤Thermal conductivity of Copper is double than aluminum. Hence copper conducts heat better while aluminium radiates heat better.
➤Due to above copper heat sink size is half of that of aluminium to achieve same performance.
➤Copper is expensive compare to aluminium.
➤Copper is difficult to fabricate than aluminium.
➤Aluminium heat sink is light in weight than copper heat sink.

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