In recent issues, this column has dealt with the use of a number of thermal metrics to calculate the junction temperature of integrated circuits under various conditions. These metrics explored were JA, JC, and JT. To summarize the uses of these metrics: JA represents the junction-to-air thermal resistance for a package tested in an industry-standard test environment. It is … [Read more...]
Thermal challenges in the telecom and networks industry
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...]
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...]
Use of thermal analysis information in avionics equipment development
IEEE Standard 1332-1998 [IEEE 1998] requires that, "The [equipment] supplier shall determine the customer's requirements and product needs," and that, "The [equipment] supplier, working with the customer, shall include the activities necessary to ensure that the customer's requirements and product needs are fully understood and defined, so that a comprehensive design … [Read more...]
