Few design elements today pose as destructive a threat to proper electronic system operation as elevated or runaway temperature, especially for high-speed microprocessors, ASICs, and associated chip sets. Early consideration in system design for efficient heat dissipation for critical components can pay significant rewards throughout the OEM product development cycle, reliable system operation over useful life, and for future system upgrades.
Thermal management is an important element of electronic product design.
Reliable performance of these products is directly related to effectively controlling the component junction temperatures specified limits. The maximum temperatures specified by the device manufactures are derated by the design engineers to meet reliability criteria. Long component life may be achieved by designing the products with sufficient heat transfer components, materials, and features. Design engineers look for cost-effective ways to transfer heat from dissipating components. A cost-effective thermal management solution must be a complete solution that takes all of these needs into account.