Figure 1: Telecom Equipment Operating EnvironmentsThere are two main reasons for doing thermal design in the telecommunication industry. The first is to ensure functionality of the equipment and system when subjected to extreme environments. The second is to ensure high dependability of the network. While doing thermal design, many challenges must be kept in mind: the … [Read more...]
Computer-related thermal packaging at the millenial divide
Examples of state-of-the-art thermal management solutions at the dawn of the 21st century (left to right): a TCM module, a high-density heat sink, and an ultra performance, low profile fan-sink. Thermal management has served as a key enabling technology in the development of advanced microelectronic systems and has facilitated many of the "Moore's Law" [Moore, G.E., 1975] … [Read more...]
Adjusting temperatures for high altitude
Many companies design products with electronics that must function reliably at high altitude, typically 1,500m (5,000 ft) or 3,000m (10,000 ft) above sea level. Estimating the increase in operating temperatures is necessary to design and qualify such products. There are a variety of corrections used to account for this effect, many of which sacrifice accuracy for simplicity. … [Read more...]
Design and reliability considerations in avionics electronics packaging
In the avionics industry, regulatory agencies and standards organizations, such as Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) [1], Aeronautical Radio, Inc. (ARINC) [2], and Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) [3], have developed sets of test procedures that help design engineers test and verify their designs and prevent any safety-threatening failures. Too often, however, … [Read more...]
Thermal design of fault tolerant and high availability computer systems
Thermal Design is one of the most challenging aspects of computer system design. This is definitely the case when it comes to designing for “fault tolerance” and “high availability” in high-speed multiprocessor-based systems. The inherent challenges associated with fault tolerance not only bring demanding design requirements but headaches as well. The term fault tolerance … [Read more...]








