A previous Electronics Cooling article, which discussed the process for analyzing the thermal performance of cooling fans [1], mentioned the need of accounting for the increasing coolant temperature as air passes through a heat sink. That article used an ‘average’ air temperature, which was defined as the midpoint between the inlet and outlet air temperatures. This article … [Read more...]
Normal Distribution
Introduction The previous column in this series [1] discussed statistical probability and showed that the plot of the probability of a given value occurring within a population can look like a hill in which there is a peak in the middle that tapers off to increasingly smaller slopes on each side. The example in that column referred to the scores produced by shaking a number of … [Read more...]
Larger Errors with Smaller Stuff
Thermal Facts and Fairytales by Ross Wilcoxon Long time readers of Electronics Cooling will undoubtedly recall one of our former editors: Clemens Lasance. One of Clemens’ many contributions to the magazine was the creation of the original “Thermal Facts and Fairy Tales” column, which provided a forum for him to discuss a variety of issues related to the use and misuse of … [Read more...]
Avionics Thermal Management of Airborne Electronic Equipment, 50 Years Later
BACKGROUND In a proposal submitted to the Air Force in November of 1968, Collins Radio Company described ways to improve the electronic industry’s understanding of thermal management and predictive techniques [1]. This article briefly describes that proposal and discusses what aspects of electronics cooling have changed over the past five decades and what things have … [Read more...]
Reliability of Nano-sintered Silver Die Attach Materials
Coauthored by: Ross Wilcoxon, Mark Dimke, Chenggang Xie Rockwell Collins INTRODUCTION Die attach can play a significant role in the package level thermal resistance of wire bonded devices. Die with moderate heat flux can often be attached to the carrier substrate with organic, Silver Filled Die Attach (SFDA) materials that require relatively benign processing requirements … [Read more...]
