Bruce Guenin, PhD Associate Technical Editor The need to accommodate increasing chip power has led to improved package and heat sink designs having much lower thermal resistance values than previously. This has led to challenges in accurately calculating the thermal performance of the package and heat sink as an integral unit on the basis of thermal resistance measurements … [Read more...]
calculation corner: a spreadsheet based matrix solution for a thermal resistance network: part 1
Ross Wilcoxon Rockwell Collins Cedar Rapids, Iowa A thermal resistance network analysis begins by defining discrete points within a system, known as nodes, and the thermal resistance between each set of nodes. Boundary conditions for external heat inputs and reference temperature(s) are applied to the appropriate nodes. Equations to relate nodal temperatures can be generated … [Read more...]
transient dual interface measurement of the rth-jc of power semiconductor packages
Dirk Schweitzer Infineon Technologies AG Introduction The junction-to-case thermal resistance Rth-JC is an important thermal characteristic especially for power semiconductor devices. Its value is often one of the main criteria for the decision whether a device can be used in a specific application and a low Rth-JC is a competitive advantage for the semiconductor manufacturer. … [Read more...]
High-Performance Thermal Putty
Fujipoly has released SARCON XR-Um-Al, a thermal interface silicone putty. The gap filler compound’s putty-like consistency contributes to the material’s low contact and thermal resistance while maintaining a thermal conductivity of 17 watt/m-k. SARCON XR-Um-Al is manufactured with a thin aluminum carrier film for customer-friendly application. The low adhesion aluminum barrier … [Read more...]
integrating vapor chambers into thermal solutions
Introduction Often in high power density or low profile heat sink applications, the spreading resistances in the base of the heat sink limits the performance of the design. Once it is determined that normal heat sink materials, aluminum or copper, are either insufficient or too bulky to meet the design objectives, the obvious next step is to look at two phase … [Read more...]
