Friday, March 12, 2010

Thermal Management Using Heat Sinks and Effects of Heat on Electronic Circuits and Devices



The Effects of Heat on Electronic Circuits and Devices
Charles Nogales, VP of Engineering at Emulex, talks about the effects of heat on electronic circuits and devices, such as HBAs, and how heatsinks play a role in keeping networking and server product


Thermal Management Using Heat Sinks
Thermal management is an important design consideration with complex
devices running at high speeds and power levels as these devices can
generate significant heat. Proper thermal management can increase
product performance and life expectancy. The thermal management
requirements for a programmable device depend on its application.
AlteraR packages are designed to minimize thermal resistance
characteristics and maximize heat dissipation. However, in some cases,
complex designs require heat dissipation greater than packages provide.
This application note discusses ways to dissipate heat, how to calculate
the heat dissipation of a device, and how to determine if a device requires
a heat sink in an application.