Technical Library | 2024-08-20 00:41:48.0
Thermal interface materials (TIMs) play a pivotal role in ensuring efficient thermal management by facilitating heat transfer between heat generating components and heat-dissipating devices
Technical Library | 2025-08-29 13:54:40.0
As the demand for high-performance electronic devices continues to grow, managing heat dissipation effectively has become a critical challenge. Thermal interface materials (TIMs) play a pivotal role in ensuring efficient thermal management by facilitating heat transfer between heat-generating components and heat-dissipating devices. This article examines the various types of TIMs, their application methods, including detailed insights into modern dispensing systems, and the advantages and disadvantages of these methods in the electronics industry.
Technical Library | 2010-12-16 16:59:09.0
This report discusses the significance of heat management in the design of printed circuit boards (PCB). After an introduction into the basics of PCBs the crucial mechanisms of heat transfer are discussed with regard to significance and typical design par
Technical Library | 1999-05-06 11:18:25.0
The trend toward surface-mount assembly processes is making ball-grid array (BGA) packaging a popular choice for many types of devices, forcing designers to re-examine cooling of these large packages. While devices in BGAs transfer more heat to the board than leaded devices, the style of BGA packages has a large influence on the ability to transfer heat through other pathways, such as a top-mounted heat sink. Physical characteristics of the BGA further constrain the thermal designer. It takes forethought in board design to successfully accommodate devices that require significant heat dissipation. Multiple solutions exist, however, for BGA packages of all types.
Technical Library | 2020-12-10 15:49:40.0
Electronic assemblies should have longer and longer service life. Today there are partially demanded 20 years of functional capability for electronics for automotive application. On the other hand, smaller components, such as resistors of size 0201, are able to endure an increasing number of thermal cycles until fail of solder joints, so these are tested sometimes up to 4000 cycles. But testing until the end of life is essential for the determination of failure rates and the prognosis of reliability. Such tests require a lot of time, but this is often not available in developing of new modules. A further acceleration by higher cycle temperatures is usually not possible, because the materials are already operated at the upper limit of the load. However, the duration can be shortened by the use of liquids for passive tests, which allow faster temperature changes and shorter dwell times because of better heat transfer compared to air. The question is whether such tests lead to comparable results and what failure mechanisms are becoming effective. The same goes for active temperature cycles, in which the components itself are heated from inside and the substrate remains comparatively cold. This paper describes the various accelerated temperature cycling tests, compares and evaluates the related degradation of solder joints.
Technical Library | 2019-10-24 14:23:49.0
Presentation given by Fred Dimock during a seminar at the American Competitiveness Institute, ACI. •Recipe vs. Profile •Material Properties •Why profiles are shaped like they are. •Obtaining profiles •TC Accuracy •Profilers •Test vehicles •Process Window – Eutectic vs. Lead Free •Heat transfer •Oven Control
Technical Library | 2020-01-09 00:00:30.0
PCBs have a wide range of applications in electronics where they are used for electric signal transfer. For a multilayer build-up, thin copper foils are alternated with epoxy-based prepregs and laminated to each other. Adhesion between copper and epoxy composites is achieved by technologies based on mechanical interlocking or chemical bonding, however for future development, the understanding of failure mechanisms between these materials is of high importance. In literature, various interfacial failures are reported which lead to adhesion loss between copper and epoxy resins. This review aims to give an overview on common coupling technologies and possible failure mechanisms. The information reviewed can in turn lead to the development of new strategies, enhancing the adhesion strength of copper/epoxy joints and, therefore, establishing a basis for future PCB manufacturing.
Technical Library | 2011-09-22 16:30:11.0
The remainder of this paper will deal with the adhesive cure mechanism most often found in the microelectronics industry; the thermal activation and cure of adhesives that are most commonly based on epoxy backbones. The use of heat is already prevalent in the microelectronics industry as most printed circuit board assemblies use some element of this thermal energy (reflow ovens for example) during the component soldering and assembly stage or during their burn-in stage (convection ovens).
Technical Library | 2014-03-20 12:37:39.0
In the beginning of SMT, Vapor Phase Soldering was the preferred reflow soldering technology because of its excellent heat transfer capabilities. There were also some disadvantages like fast temperature rise, nearly no influence on the temperature profiles and high costs. So the use of Vapor Phase Soldering was reduced to special applications with high mass or complex boards in low numbers (e.g. for military or aerospace use).
Technical Library | 2017-11-15 22:49:14.0
While a significant level of voiding can be tolerated in solder joints where electrical conductivity is the main requirement, voiding at any level severely compromises thermal conductivity. For example, in LED lighting modules effective conduction of heat through the 1st level die attach to the substrate and then through the 2nd level attach to the heat sink is critical to performance so that voiding in the solder joints at both levels must be minimized. (...) In this paper, the authors will review the factors that influence the incidence of voids in small and large area solder joints that simulate, respectively, the 1st and 2nd level joints in LED modules and discuss mitigation strategies appropriate to each level. They will also report the results of a study on the effect on the incidence of voids of flux medium formulation and the optimization of the thermal profile to ensure that most of the volatiles are released early in the reflow process.
