The Basics of Heat Sinks

The overall efficiency of various heat-sink types mainly depends on the following three factors:
• material.
• surface area,
• structure or shape

Cooling capabilities relate directly to the surface area; the larger the surface area, the more heat that can be dissipated. Physical structure is yet another factor. Proper structure increases turbulent airflow which creates a more competent heat sink.
The heat-sink material is also critical. Copper, for example, has excellent cooling qualities compared to aluminum because the thermal conductivity of copper is much higher than the conductivity of aluminum. At room temperature, copper has a thermal conductivity of exactly 401 W/m-K. Aluminum is 235 W/m-K. Therefore, a heat sink made of copper dissipates more significantly more heat than a heat sink made from aluminum.

One such example is the Pin Fin Heat Sinks 628-65ABT3