Articles from May 2009 Issue

Health Assessment and Prognostics of Electronic Products: An Alternative to Traditional Reliability Prediction Methods

May 9th, 2009

Introduction Traditional handbook-based reliability prediction methods for electronic products include Mil-Hdbk-217, Telcordia SR-332 (formerly Bellcore), PRISM, FIDES, CNET/RDF (European), and the Chinese GJB-299. These methods rely on analysis of failure data collected from the field…read more

LED Thermal Standardization: A Hot Topic

May 9th, 2009

Introduction The main topic of the article is how to cope with the increasing need for standardization of thermal characterization of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) and LED-based products (see Fig.1 showing a typical LED package).…read more

Numerical Simulation of Complex Submicron Devices

May 1st, 2009

Introduction Significant increases in temperature are believed to contribute to losses in reliability and performance, and can present serious complications to thermal management. The net thermal effect depends on a combination of factors related to…read more

On (the Lack of) Thermal Education

May 1st, 2009

Some like it hot, others do not. And those others for sure include the designers of products that contain electronics. There is a growing need to educate designers who are involved with the undesired side-effects…read more

Small Fans for Cooling Small Electronic Devices

May 1st, 2009

Small Fans for Cooling Small Electronic Devices Masaharu Miyahara, Sunonwealth Electronic Machine Industry Co., Ltd. The growing portable device market boosts the development of small electric devices, such as Ultra Mobile PC, Pico projector, Smart…read more

Thermal Conductivity of Filled Plastics

May 1st, 2009

Compared to other solid materials, metals are widely known for their superior heat transfer capabilities. However, these capabilities come at the cost of weight, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch and freedom of design due…read more

Using a Matrix Inverse Method to Solve a Thermal Resistance Network

May 1st, 2009

Today virtually all serious thermal analysis and design calculations for electronic packages are performed using various commercial flow and thermal conduction codes. Nonetheless, there are still many instances, especially in the early phases of a…read more