Elaplus Science Popularization:Why do Electronic Products Need Thermal Management?
Up to 55% of electronic product failures are caused by heat Most electronic products, such as power transistors, CPUs, and power diodes, generate a significant amount of heat, which may need to be considered in order to extend their lifespan and improve reliability.During operation, the temperature of electronic components will rise until the heat generated inside the device equals the heat dissipated to the surrounding environment, and the device reaches equilibrium. The temperature may be high enough to significantly shorten the shelf life of components and even cause equipment failure.The result of temperature rise will affect the operation of active and passive components in integrated circuits. If the temperature rises high enough, the heated active or passive components may not function properly or even fail completely. This type of failure includes thermal runaway, junction failure, metallization failure, corrosion, resistance drift, and electromigration diffusion. Therefore, minimizing temperature rise in electronic packaging is crucial.What causes the temperature of electronic packaging to rise? Improve power density and currentThe insatiable demand for higher performance processors has led to a steady increase in power consumption in all segmented markets, such as mobile and high-performance desktops, as well as servers and workstations. The increasing power density and current levels in microprocessors have always been the main heat sources, causing concerns about thermal management of on-chip hotspots, packaging, and interconnect Joule heating.PCB surface component density is higherAnother reason why thermal management of electronic circuit boards has attracted attention is that the electronics industry is witnessing a trend of handheld devices and household appliances becoming thinner and smaller. That’s why PCBs are becoming more compact, and the space between components on electronic PCBs is getting closer, making it harder to transfer heat from PCB components.So what if the radiator is not enough?Maximizing the contact area between the radiator…
