Heat sink is the device that is used to transfer the excess amount of heat from the electronic devices thereby maintaining the desired temperature range. This property of heat sink makes it a very useful component and thus is used with every type of electronic device which has a danger of overheating. People buying heat sink would have a wide range of option to purchase the same depending on the type of material that is used in manufacturing the heat sink. Some of the heat sink options are as follows:

Aluminum Heat Sink:

The most common material that is used for the manufacturing of heat sink is aluminum and the alloys of aluminum. These alloys of aluminum have high thermal conductivity which helps in quick heat transfer. The value of the thermal conductivity depends on the temper of the aluminum alloy and its composition. However all types of aluminum alloys are widely used in the making of heat sink.

Copper Heat Sink:

Although thermal conductivity of copper is larger as compared to that of aluminum, copper heat sinks are around 4 to 6 times as costly as that of aluminum. These are very dense type of material which is difficult to be extruded. Hence they are difficult to be manufactured and require special processing machines for their manufacturing.

Diamond Heat Sink:

This is perhaps the best material and the most expensive one which is used in the manufacturing of heat sink. The thermal conductivity of diamond is five times that of copper. The high transfer rate in diamond is the result of lattice vibrations which make it an ideal material for heat sink. The high diffusivity and thermal conductivity of diamonds is a very desirable property for the working of heat sink. In some cases, synthetic diamond may also be used for making heat sink.

Composite Material Heat Sink:

People have yet another heat sink option in the form of buying composite material heat sink. Composite materials such as an alloy of copper-tungsten, mixture of silicon carbide in aluminum, an alloy of diamond and copper etc can also be used in the making of these heat sinks for equipments. Their thermal compositions are made to match that of the ceramics or the semi-conductors and they can be used as chips in the devices.

Thus we see that depending on the affordability and use, people can chose from the above available heat sink options.