Articles from September 1996 Issue

An introduction to thermoelectric coolers

September 1st, 1996

Figure 1: Cross Section of a Typical TECouple Introduction Thermoelectric coolers are solid state heat pumps used in applications wheretemperature stabilization, temperature cycling, or cooling below ambient arerequired. There are many products using thermoelectric coolers,…read more

Heat pipes for electronics cooling applications

September 1st, 1996

Figure 1: Heat pipe operation Introduction All electronic components, from microprocessors to high end powerconverters, generate heat and rejection of this heat is necessary for theiroptimum and reliable operation. As electronic design allows higher throughputin…read more

Thermal control of space electronics

September 1st, 1996

Introduction Telecommunication satellites are all based on the same overall design usinga 3 axis stabilization process, in which the North and South panels act asradiators and so ensure heat removal. This basic principle is illustrated…read more

Thermal Interface Materials

September 1st, 1996

Thermattach thermally conductive adhesivetapes Introduction Today’s semiconductors, whether discrete power or logic ICs, are smaller,run faster, do more and generate more heat. Some microprocessors dissipatepower levels that were once the exclusive domain of discrete power…read more

Thermal resistance of interface materials as a function of pressure

September 1st, 1996

A very large factor in reducing thermal interface resistance is theapplication of pressure. Even though much effort in recent years has beendevoted to improving the thermal conductivity of interface materials, thethermal conductivity of a material…read more