Figure 1. Transistor counts on Intel processors from inception to present superimposed on Moore's prediction. In his fascinating book, "Visions," Michio Kaku [1] predicts a future driven by silicon and quantum computers. Based on the information we have today, it is intriguing to speculate how such a highly silicon-based society might function and evolve. Being a thermal … [Read more...]
Thermal conductivity of composite materials
A composite material can be defined as a material in which two or more different materials are bonded together. It is sensible to make a distinction between macrocomposites and microcomposites. The first group usually has a layered structure, and PCBs are the main application. The second group looks uniform to the naked eye; materials from this group are often used for packages … [Read more...]
High performance thermal management materials
Various new advanced composite materials are now available, which provide great advantages over conventional materials for electronic packaging thermal control, including: Extremely high thermal conductivities (up to twice that of copper) Low, tailorable coefficients of thermal expansion Extremely high strength and stiffness Low densities Low cost, net shape fabrication … [Read more...]
The thermal conductivity of ceramics
Ceramics are increasingly used in packages and printed circuit boards, because they have a number of advantages over plastics: much higher thermal conductivity, possible match of the coefficient of thermal expansion, and hermetic sealing. Unfortunately, the cost of ceramics is still much higher than that of plastics, prohibiting their use in low-cost high-volume products. … [Read more...]
Determining the junction temperature in a plastic semiconductor package, part 1
One of the primary tasks of the thermal engineer is to determine the temperature of the junction (active circuitry on an integrated circuit) for the various packages in a system. Measurements performed in the industry-standard test environment are often used in this endeavor. The most common thermal metric [1,2] is the junction-to-air thermal resistance, JA (pronounced theta, … [Read more...]
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