Manufacturing of high strength and high conductivity copper with laser powder bed fusion

Additive manufacturing (AM), known as 3D printing, enables rapid fabrication of geometrically complex copper (Cu) components for electrical conduction and heat management applications. However, pure Cu or Cu alloys produced by 3D printing often suffer from either low strength or low conductivity at room and elevated temperatures. Here, we demonstrate a design strategy for 3D printing of high strength, high conductivity Cu by uniformly dispersing a minor portion of lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) nanoparticles in pure Cu through laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF). We show that trace additions of LaB6 to pure Cu result in an improved L-PBF processability, an enhanced strength, and improved thermal stability, all whilst maintaining a high conductivity.  The presented strategy could expand the applicability of 3D-printed Cu components to more demanding conditions where high strength, high conductivity, and thermal stability are required.

Methods
These datasets were collected at University of Queensland (Australia) from 2021 to 2023.

Details for each dataset are provided in the README file.