Improving thermal performance of electronic components is very challenging due to the increasing power density and decreasing module sizes. The design trade off between electrical and mechanical characteristics and the cost of manufacturing MCM products requires innovative solutions to improve device thermal performance. The primary cooling path in portable electronics serves … [Read more...]
How Thermal Conductivity Relates to Electrical Conductivity
Because the accurate determination of thermal conductivity is a demanding task (often not recognized by either designers or vendors), methods, based on the measurement of another physical property that is uniquely coupled to thermal conductivity, are very challenging. One such method is based on the so-called Wiedemann-Franz Law, which links the thermal conductivity to 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...]
The history of power dissipation
Figure 1. Transistor counts on Intel processors from inception to present superimposed on Moore's prediction. In his fascinating book, "Visions," Michio Kaku [1] predicts a future driven by silicon and quantum computers. Based on the information we have today, it is intriguing to speculate how such a highly silicon-based society might function and evolve. Being a thermal … [Read more...]
Thermal conductivity of composite materials
A composite material can be defined as a material in which two or more different materials are bonded together. It is sensible to make a distinction between macrocomposites and microcomposites. The first group usually has a layered structure, and PCBs are the main application. The second group looks uniform to the naked eye; materials from this group are often used for packages … [Read more...]
