It is chiefly used in microelectronics as a substrate for high-power and high-density multi-chip modules, where it aids with removing waste heat.
The grains are coated by physical vapor deposition with 10 nanometers thick layer of alloy of tungsten with 26% rhenium, forming a tungsten carbide layer that assists bonding, then coated with 100 nanometers of copper to avoid carbide oxidation, then compacted in a mold and infiltrated with molten copper-silver alloy.
[4] Similar alloys are possible with the metal phase of one or more of silver, copper, gold, aluminium, magnesium, and zinc.
The carbide-forming metal can be selected from titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, and chromium, where Ti, Zr, and Hf are preferable.
The material may deform at higher temperatures and must be low to prevent the formation of too thick a carbide layer that would hinder heat transfer.