Thermally conductive pad
In computing and electronics, thermal pads are pre-formed squares or rectangles of solid material commonly found on the underside of heatsinks to aid the conduction of heat away from the component being cooled and into the heatsink. Thermal pads and thermal compound are used to fill air gaps caused by imperfectly flat or smooth surfaces which should be in thermal contact; they would not be needed between perfectly flat and smooth surfaces. Thermal pads are relatively firm at room temperature, but become soft and are able to fill gaps at higher temperatures.
It is an alternative to thermal paste to be used as thermal interface material. AMD and Intel have included thermal pads on the bottom of heatsinks shipped with some of their processors, as they are cleaner and generally easier to install. However, thermal pads conduct heat less effectively than a minimal amount of thermal paste.
