2009

On the sliding scale of thermal component model representation king of all is a ‘detailed’ model. A 3D definition of all of the internal construction geometry and material properties does away with any of the accuracy inconsistency issues associated with the derived CTM (thermal resistor network type) approach.
Despite the fact that all models are [...]

Mentor’s Thermal Design Software Is The Best. OK, say’s who?
It’s the conclusion from some independent research carried out by Aberdeen Research Group. Last time I showed that Aberdeen had found that Mentor’s customers are almost 3 times faster at completing thermal verification than users of other tools. Let’s take a look at why that is.
Aberdeen [...]

It could save your company a shed load of time and money…
Interested?
OK, here’s some research by Aberdeen Group, which I presented at several of the recent Solutions Expos. First off, the Mechanical Analysis Division’s customers choose Mentor’s tools because they recognise them as being the best. They don’t just make do with tools available as [...]

Like a river this blog series is slowing down due to its increased width and depth, that and a lot of travel on my part. So, let’s get it back on track! The previous blog focussed on the relatively well known 2 resistor compact thermal model (CTM) method, its strengths (simple to measure and describe) [...]

Next stop on the avenue of package thermal modelling is 2 resistor CTMs (compact thermal models). Specifically Theta_jb and Theta_jc, the thermal resistance between junction and board and junction and case respectively. Unlike their lowly 1R cousins these two resistances do not purport to include the effects of the package environment (well almost not) as [...]

Just a quick post to let you know yours truly will be giving a presentation on:
Thermal Design: A Key Part of the Electronics Design Flow
At the UK Solutions Expo at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon on 12th November.
Miniaturization continues to increase power densities at all packaging levels, forcing design teams to identify new methods [...]

The simplest of compact thermal models (CTMs) is a one resistor type. Of these the most widely quoted is Theta_ja (ok, ok, and Theta_jma, more on that variant later). Knowing the power dissipation of the component as well as the ambient temperature is in theory all that is required to determine the junction temperature from [...]

I read in the news this last week that Sir Tim Berners-Lee, a Brit and the inventor of the World Wide Web, has confessed that the // in a web address were actually “unnecessary”…
and it seems that polar ice will be gone in the summer, perhaps by as early as 2020, opening the arctic [...]

Lumped block package representation makes the best use of limited available data to simulate for an ‘indication’ of case temperature. Some indication is better than none but I wouldn’t bet on it, really, I wouldn’t. Accurate case and junction temperature prediction can only be realised with either a fully 3D detailed representation or an abstracted [...]

Hmmm…
If you’re guessing it’s a chip package, you’re right – got it in one. Well done!
OK, so what type of package is it?
If you’re thinking it’s a silly question as you don’t know anything about the package, other than I’ve told you its black – that was a hint that it’s an encapsulated plastic part [...]