As the complexity and power density of electronics systems increase, so too does the demand for tools to improve both product quality and designer productivity. This is especially true for thermal designers who use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools for thermal designs. Several important factors are driving this trend: System complexity has increased to the point that … [Read more...]
Beyond the arrow plot – New methods for flow visualization
Within the realm of CFD-based flow analysis, the presentation of data is a vital issue. Researchers and developers need to gain insight, and non-technical managers and commercial staff have a critical need to understand the true ramifications of the data. Unfortunately, current methods for visualizing flow have limitations that make it difficult to interpret vast quantities of … [Read more...]
Disk drive reliability and thermal management
Disk drive reliability and thermal management Hard disk drives are electromechanical systems which store information. They are the most complex electronic sub-assembly within a computer. If a microprocessor can qualify as the "heart" of a computer system, a disk drive can qualify as the "brain". Drives store and retrieve data in milliseconds, measured as access and transfer … [Read more...]
Recent Japanese thermal solutions for portable computers
Introduction Mobile computing is poised to shape the way we live our lives, allowing people to generate, retrieve, and process data anywhere and at any time. The infrastructure for mobile computing is rapidly developing, as evidenced by the recent growth of cellular phone networks and a constant stream of innovations in portable electronic equipment. Mobile computing is also … [Read more...]
Thermal testing and control by means of built-in temperature sensors
Introduction This paper will discuss a new approach to the measurement of the thermal properties of PCBs and the packages mounted to them. It is intended to replace traditional solutions, such as using thermocouples and data acquisition equipment. The basic idea of this approach is that the IC chips themselves will be used to measure and acquire temperature data. It will be … [Read more...]
