Heat buildup in electronic components and other devices that produce unwanted heat can severely limit service life and reduce operating efficiency. Metal parts, that are heavy and costly to produce, are being replaced by injection moldable and extrudable heat-conducting plastic compounds. Known as thermally conductive plastics, they are made by compounding conductive fillers (graphite fibers, ceramics) with polymers. The added fillers eliminate hot spots in components by spreading out the heat more evenly than unfilled plastics. Thermal conductivity relates to the ability of a material to transfer heat through conduction. Thermally conductive plastics reduce molding cycle times by 20-50%. Their inherently low coefficient of thermal expansion lowers shrink rates and helps replace metals and ceramics in dimensionally critical parts. They have higher flexural and tensile stiffness and lower impact strengths than conventional plastics. Advantages include design flexibility, parts consolidation, corrosion and chemical resistance, reduction of secondary finishing operations. These materials are increasingly specified in the computer, automotive, aerospace, electronics and appliance industries. Applications include heat exchangers and coolers, heat sinks and heat pipes, electronic interfaces, housings and transformers. Plastic electronics based on inherently conductive polymers (ICPs) and flexible substrates can change the electronics industry. Global demand for conductive electronic polymer products will expand by 14.5% pa until 2008, according to Frost & Sullivan's research report. At present, the industry heavily relies on plastic as low-cost solution for thermal management in devices with its insulation and conductive properties. Future products include roll-up displays for computers and cell phones, flexible solar panels for power portable equipment, as well as ultralow-cost RFID tags. Recently-developed conductive transparent polymers also function as OLED in displays. New materials such as carbon nanotubes and organic molecules, with conducting and semiconducting properties, are set to bring in sophisticated plastic electronic displays for cell phones and portable devices. The ongoing trend towards miniaturisation and the consequent demand for high-performance plastics that provide tough, stable parts with thin walls will intensify the search for speciality polymers. Compact and complex PCBs with rising operating temperatures are pushing researchers to focus on the thermal management capabilities of plastics used in electronic devices. In addition to new resins, additives and fillers to meet thin-wall and high-temperature requirements for moulded parts, there is a need for more-efficient heat sinks that that are used to cool semiconductors. Moreover, thermally conductive thermoplastics are also eyed as alternatives for aluminum and copper as development materials for heat sinks for electronics. Meanwhile, the growing use of lead-free soldering to comply with the RoHS directive is said to add to the demand for plastics with exceptional thermal management properties. Hence, new plastic materials must accommodate higher soldering temperatures of about 250-260°C, especially for electronic parts that undergo surface-mount reflow soldering. Compounds made of high-temperature thermoplastics such as liquid crystal polymer and polyethersulfone used in moulded interconnect devices and low-k dielectric polymers in semiconductor fabrication are also expected to register strong growth. Many specialty compounders have added thermally-conductive materials to their portfolios. Price of thermally conductive compounds has come down substantially within the last decade to US$6-15/kg- prices have seen substantial reduction on increased demand.