Examples of state-of-the-art thermal management solutions at the dawn of the 21st century (left to right): a TCM module, a high-density heat sink, and an ultra performance, low profile fan-sink. Thermal management has served as a key enabling technology in the development of advanced microelectronic systems and has facilitated many of the "Moore's Law" [Moore, G.E., 1975] … [Read more...]
Acoustic noise emission and communication systems in the next century
Acoustic noise emission is one of several physical design issues addressed during the design of telecommunications and information technology equipment. In most systems, noise is a by-product of the air-movers used for system cooling. The amount of heat dissipated in electronic systems cooled by forced convection is directly proportional to volumetric flow rate. The flow rate, … [Read more...]
Cooling Electronics at High Altitudes Made Easy
Introduction High altitude air cooling has always been somewhat of a mystery to the uninformed. The first reaction to the situation is that there is just not enough air at altitudes greater than six kilometers (20,000 ft). At times this may be true, but many things can be done to improve the cooling and obtain an acceptable design. The most important thing to remember when … [Read more...]
Forced convection cooling inside an electronics enclosure
Introduction One of the more complex thermal problems in electronics is the modeling of complete systems, such as an enclosure containing electronic components. A typical example would be a power supply, including heat sinks and a cooling fan. This problem becomes more difficult when there are multiple heat sinks and other large components arranged in an arbitrary manner inside … [Read more...]
Thermal management of handheld telecommunication products
Introduction Recent advances in mobile communications have enabled large scale development of handheld telecommunication products. Such products include cellular phones, pagers, two-way radios, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other wireless and wireline equipment. The technological enhancements at device, package, and system levels have resulted in increased … [Read more...]