9361795 Lee Metal matrix composites (MMC), with their high thermal conductivity, light weight, EMI shielding, and tailorabel coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) are the emerging materials of choice for heat sink, constraining core and packaging applications. Affordable and timely manufacturing methods are desired for small lots of electronic packaging applications such as microwave T/R module and multichip modules (MSM's). In this research the purpose is to combine composite processing and the tooling fabrication to develop flexible manufacturing methods for small production runs of high performance MMC electronic packages. A prototype MMC MCM's will be designed to test the feasibility of using solid freeform fabrication (SFF) models to generate tooling for rapid prototyping of MMC packages. Near-net-shape manufacturing of the composite packages will be demonstrated. Properties of MMC packages such as CTE, thermal conductivity, modules, density, surface finish and dimensional tolerance will be characterized. In addition to the high performance electronic packing applications, metal matrix composites will be commercial applications as heat exchangers, engine components and possible applications in sport equipments. ***
