Thin ceramic plates sources / manufacture techniques?

[nution]

I need to insulate the area between two heat sinks. The gap is about 10mm, and the bottoms of the heat sinks are facing each other with a peltier chip sandwiched in-between. However the two sinks are in separate enclosed sections, and I need to insulate the hot side from the cold side as much as I can. So my idea was to get a ceramic plate about 10mm in thickness (the thickness of the peltier chip) and hollow a square in the center and fit the chip in the middle then place the heatsinks on each side of the chip. So I am trying to find or think of a way to get a ceramic sheet or possibly some other suggested possibly more readably available material to insulate those 2 sides from each other. If I have to I can make my own but would need some suggestion on mixing and baking ceramics. More or less would love a home depot type solution so I can just go buy a sheet of something that will do the job. Thank you in advance!

 

[uby]

Perhaps I am missing something, but air has a much lower thermal conductivity than any solid you would slide in there. A vacuum is even better.

Depending on temperature of the heat sinks, styrofoam might be an easier (and much lighter) solution.

 

[nution]

It's just in my mind that, similar to an oven, you need an insulator to keep the hot air in. Instead of say just leaving the door open, you close the door and it keeps the heat intact. I need to make sure to keep the heat to it's side of the enclosure. It's mainly just insulation. And there is a great deal of air circulation taking place, so an air insulator would just allow both chambers to kinda mix the cold and hot air.

 

[Matcon]

I use ceramic fibre blanket as insulation in my furnaces. It is an air-trapping heat insulating material that should give you a thermal conductivity of about 0,04 W/m-K. Much to my surprise, ordinary roofing insulation blanket is a better insulator, but has temperature limitations.

There are specialist carbon fibre felts that go down to 90µW/m-K, but you should be able to knock something up yourself by carbonising cellulose or acrylic fibres.

 

[Paradoxos]

You may want to check out westernrubber.com. They specialize in thermal management materials and thermal gap fillers. The company is WRS (Western Rubber and Supply, Inc.). Good luck.