Page 9 - PEN eBook March 2022
P. 9
DESIGN
An Approach to
Thermal Management
of High-Power PCBs
By Stefano Lovati, technical writer for EEWeb
The entire power-electronic sector, including RF applications and systems involving high-speed
signals, is evolving toward solutions that offer increasingly complex functionalities in ever-smaller
spaces. Designers face increasingly demanding challenges to meet system size, weight, and
power requirements, which include effective thermal management, starting with the design of the
printed-circuit board.
High-integration–density active power devices, such as MOSFET transistors, can dissipate a
significant amount of heat and therefore require PCBs that can transfer heat from the hottest
components to ground planes or heat-dissipating surfaces, operating as efficiently and effectively
as possible. Thermal stress is one of the main causes of malfunctioning of power devices, as it
leads to a degradation of performance or even a possible malfunction or failure of the system. The
rapid growth of the power density of devices and the constant increase in frequencies are the main
reasons that cause excessive heating of electronic components. The increasingly widespread use of
semiconductors with reduced power losses and better thermal conductivity, such as wide-bandgap
materials, is not in itself sufficient to eliminate the need for effective thermal management.
MARCH 2022 | www.powerelectronicsnews.com 21
