Thermal Design Solutions

The introduction of handheld devices such as smartphones has made life easier for a lot of people. Now, people are always connected with their environment wherever they go. The instant messages, the phone calls and video communications, which are now taken for granted, were not there even 15 years ago. Such devices were made possible by advances in many areas of engineering. Thermal engineering is one of them. As with other electronic devices, handheld devices need power to function. Some components such as the processor and wireless components consume more power than others. The power consumed is released as heat inside the system. This heat must be ultimate rejected to the environment. Otherwise, heat will build up and increase the temperature of the various components inside the system and lead to all kinds of problems. That’s why handheld systems must be design not only for core functions, but also for thermals. With increased temperature, mobile devices can become ineffici...

Today, electronic systems are manufactured with tens of thousands of intricate components densely spaced and that are unimaginable just a few decades ago. Today’s devices are not only much more compact, but they also dissipate a great deal of heat. This heat must be rejected from the system, for otherwise the device will overheat and may ultimately malfunction. Almost all electronic devices are supposed to work within certain temperature ranges. And each component usually has its own temperature spec. For example, IC processors, which are the hottest part of electronic systems, have temperature limits of no more than about 90C. Other components have much lower temperature threshold, such as the display, which be limited to no more than 60C or so. Exposed surfaces have even lower temperature thresholds. Touch comfort may limit these surfaces to 45C or less. Exceeding thermal limits has consequences. Almost all failure mechanisms are enhanced with temperature exponentially. Hence, it...

The electronics industry is one of the fastest-growing industries currently as demand for items such as mobile phones, laptops, and other types of electronic products is rapidly increasing. Now, people don’t just want any cell phone, but one that is small and powerful, among other things. However, designing an increasingly smaller devices also brings huge challenge to engineers as this means the heat produced must be dissipated properly but in a smaller form factor. As the form factor shrinks, the  thermal design  options become more limited. This is because, with smaller devices, there is no space for active cooling devices. Heat rejection by passive means is also proportional to external surface area, which deceases as devices become smaller. These days, thermal design is not just about putting heat sinks and fans. The process requires a great deal of precision to determine exactly how much cooling is needed and where it is required. It involves extensive thermal analysi...