Electronic Product Design Heat Sink

EC 2008 @ CEK
1.Basic Theory
A common rule of thumb (although not exactly accurate - see rule 9 here) is that every 10C reduction in the junction temperature of a semiconductor will double the life expectancy of that semiconductor clearly then it is in our interest to keep the junction as cool as is practical and in order to achieve this we must consider three factors: The sum of the thermal resistances between the junction and the ambient air (see diagram below) The amount of heat to be dissipated The ambient air temperature
Equivalent schematic
Where Tj = Maximum semiconductor junction temperature jc = Thermal resistance, junction to case. Tc = Case temperature cs = Thermal resistance, case to heatsink (see Hot Tips) Ts = Heatsink temperature sa = Thermal resistance, heatsink to ambient. Ta = Ambient temperature
Circulation of this document is limited to EC 2008 @ CEK users. Original document is an intellectual property of Robots.freehostia
EC 2008 @ CEK Notes: jc is a function of the semiconductor design and is a fixed number (see manufacturers data). It cannot be influenced by the addition of a heatsink or any external agent. cs can be minimised by the application of silicon grease on the semiconductor mounting surface area. sa is the most important and most controllable parameter. The aim is to reduce this to the smallest possible level that is both economical and practical. sa is a function of the convection coefficient (hc) and the heatsink surface area (A), and can be expressed by the formula
Clearly the greater the heatsink surface area or convection coefficient then the smaller will be sa. Surface area (A) can be increased either by improved heatsink design or moving to a larger version of the same heatsink. The convection coefficient (hc) can be improved by moving from natural convection to forced convection (air or liquid).
2. Operating conditions
Under operating conditions (natural and forced convection) the permissible power dissipation (Q) for a semiconductor/heatsink assembly is defined by the formula
In most applications the only unknown will besa. Therefore re-arranging equation 2 in favour of sa gives
Equation 3 now enables us to consider a practical application.
EC 2008 @ CEK Example Assume a semiconductor (TO3 case) has a maximum operating junction temperature of 125C at 10W dissipation, in an ambient air temperature of 50C. jc is given as 1.5C/W (manufacturers data) and cs is estimated at 0.09C/W using thermal heatsink compound. Find the maximum sa under these conditions: Solution: Using equation 3,
sa = 5.9C/W This is the largest value of sa that can be tolerated. Clearly smaller values would be acceptable as these would result in a lower junction temperature.
3. Extruded heatsink selection

3.1. Natural convection mode use of volume
We have seen from the previous section that, given certain information, we can calculate a figure for the heatsink performance (sa) under given operating conditions. But having established the figure, how can it be used? How can we relate it to the size of the heatsink required to achieve the particular sa? Experience here can obviously help but failing that, we can check published data looking for a suitable product. However, a shortcut would be to use Graph 1 below. It illustrates the volume of heatsink required over a range of thermal resistances for natural convection. It is not exact, as it represents the average data from many profiles, but can be relied upon to a first approximation. The volume of a heatsink is the outline envelope times the length of the heatsink:
EC 2008 @ CEK Graph 1
Typically, to reduce thermal resistance by 50% the heatsink volume must be quadrupled. This assumes all other parameters remain constant. Having established a figure for the volume and presumably knowing the maximum available width and height, we can calculate the length. Alternatively, fixing any two parameters allows us to determine the third. Armed with this information, and providing it is acceptable, we can now look for a suitable heatsink profile. Clearly, under natural convection conditions and assuming no other variables, the heatsink volume must be increased to reduce sa.
3.2. Forced convection mode use of surface area

Again we are faced with the problem of establishing heatsink performance under a particular set of conditions and again we have adopted a generalised approach. The following curves combine theory and practice plus some basic assumptions and we have considered the many questions concerning the relationship between thermal performance and extrusion length.
EC 2008 @ CEK Graph 2
The engineering data supporting the curves is based on air movements in the laminar region (frontal velocities of 120 to 240 metres per minute) and will provide good approximations of thermal performance. As with natural convection, it is assumed that device quantity and location add no unusual heat distribution effects. Note that the outlet air temperature from the extrusion is going to be higher than at the inlet, and it is imperative that this outlet temperature never exceeds the desired maximum surface temperature of the heatsink. In fact it should remain as far below as is practical. The rise in temperature of the outlet air is given by the equation
where T = increase in air temperature Q = heat dissipation, in Watts V = volumetric flow rate, in litres per second The 0.83 constant is based on a 25C ambient air temperature. For ambient air temperatures above 25C, multiply T by the following correction factors: Air temperature C 30 40 50 Correction factor 1.02 1.06 1.09
EC 2008 @ CEK 60 1.12
For more information about fans, how they work, and selecting one, have a look at http://www.electronics-cooling.com/Resources/EC_Articles/MAY96/may96_01.htm. Consider the following examples in the use of the forced convection selector guide: Example 1. Predicting the performance of an existing shape and length. Consider a 15cm length of Wakefield 1371 extrusion.
From the datasheet we see that the heat dissipating surface (HDS) is 58.17 cm2/cm. Therefore the total HDS for a 15cm length is 15 x 58.17 = 873cm 2. Locate 873 on the horizontal axis of the graph above, and move vertically to intersect the 15cm length curve and then move horizontally to intersect the vertical axis at 0.65C/W. This is the sa for this example. Now let us apply some operating conditions to check for functional effectiveness. Question: Will the heatsink temperature at the air outlet remain below 130C under the following conditions: 100 Watts dissipation uniformly distributed 45C maximum ambient temperature 130C maximum heatsink temperature 26 Litres per second air flow
Solution: First calculate the outlet air temperature rise:
EC 2008 @ CEK Multiply by 45C correction factor: Tcorrected = 3.2 x 1.08 = 3.45C Now calculate the heatsink temperature rise: Tsink = sa x input power = 0.65 x 100 = 65C The heatsink temperature at the air outlet is Tair + Tair + Tsink = 45C + 3.2C + 65C = 114C This suggests that the performance will stay within acceptable limits. To visualise this more clearly it is useful to show these temperature profiles as follows:
Example 2: Determine the required length of extrusion for a particular sa Again, consider the use of Wakefield 1371 extrusion, and assuming a design goal of sa = 0.3C/W. Because of variables associated with the length of heatsinks, we will average the information from the curve of each of the four lengths. Locate 0.3C/W on the vertical axis of the graph and move horizontally right to intersect the curves and read vertically down, recording the HDS for each length: 7.5cm length, HDS = 1500cm2 Circulation of this document is limited to EC 2008 @ CEK users. Original document is an intellectual property of Robots.freehostia
EC 2008 @ CEK 15cm length, HDS = 2000cm2 22.5cm length, HDS = 2350cm2 30cm length, HDS = 2750cm2 Thus the average HDS is 2150cm2. The HDS of Wakefield 1371 extrusion is 58.17cm 2/cm and the required length can be determined by simple division:
= 2150/58.17 = 40cm. Clearly any greater length would be acceptable. For intermediate lengths it would be reasonable to extrapolate the required values.
4. Hot tips
4.1. Thermal resistance from case to heatsink (cs) Typical values are as follows, depending on the mounting medium between the semiconductor device and the heatsink: Mounting medium Wakefield thermal compound Beryllia washer Wakefield "delta pads" Mica washer Typical cs range, C/W
0.1 0.2
0.2
0.25 0.5
0.5
EC 2008 @ CEK An excellent article about different thermal compounds that can be used to improve cs can be found at http://www.electronics-cooling.com/Resources/EC_Articles/MAY97/article3.htm. A more extensive list of thermal interface materials can be found at http://www.peltierinfo.com/tims.html 4.2. Distributed load extruded heatsinks In order to achieve a balanced temperature rise along the heatsink (assuming there is an equal load sharing among transistors) the following mounting arrangements are recommended:
4.3. Extrusion fin design forced air application .v. natural convection When extruded heatsinks are used in forced air applications, the fin spacing can be considerably closer than for natural convection, due to the reduction in the boundary (or blanket) layer of air surrounding the fins.
4.4. Thermal resistance .v. length (for a given profile) For lengths in the range 4cm to 30cm, the thermal resistance is inversely proportional to the square root of the length (and therefore volume):
EC 2008 @ CEK 4.5. Conduction paths The thermal resistance through a solid is given by the equation
where K is constant for the material. Therefore to keep thermal resistance low, conduction paths should be short and have a large cross-sectional area. Any finned shape will have a lower thermal resistance in forced convection than in natural convection, on account of the higher heat transfer rate. Therefore under these conditions choose a heatsink with thicker sections.
4.6. Thermal performance .v. mounting attitude Thermal data produced by manufacturers generally relates to the most efficient mounting arrangement, with the fins vertical. The following is a guide to the reduction in performance that can be expected for different mounting attitudes. However, it is stressed that the performance of a heatsink is dependant on many variables such as location in the equipment, effective airflow, fin spacing, fin height, fin thickness, base thickness, shape, and overall length. Consequently the impact on the performance of a heatsink mounted other than vertically is not a fixed number, and may depend on the inter-relationship between two or more of these variables.
Vertical 100% effective
EC 2008 @ CEK
Horizontal 85% effective
Horizontal Up 70% effective
Horizontal Down 60% effective
4.7. Specifications Thermal efficiency improves (and therefore thermal resistance, sa, reduces) with increased dissipation. Beware of data providing only one figure for sa. It is probably the best figure at maximum dissipation. At low dissipation, sa would typically increase by 50%, or worst case 100%.
EC 2008 @ CEK 4.8. Black surfaces Under natural convection conditions, the performance of a heatsink with a black surface will be 6% to 8% better than that with a plain or bright surface. However, this differential disappears under forced air conditions.
5. Peltier effect devices

These devices are solid state devices that function as heat pumps. They are electrically powered, and pump heat from one side of their body to the other. The effect is that one side gets hotter and the other side gets cooler. They can be used to improve cooling of semiconductor devices by fixing the semiconductor to the cool side of the Peltier effect pump, and mounting the heatsink on the hot side of the pump. They can be stacked to reduce the temperature further. They are quite expensive however! In general, they are not very efficient, taking large amounts of power. For more information on the Peltier effect, devices, and manufacturers, see http://www.peltier-info.com/

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EC 2008 @ CEK

Equation 3 now enables us to consider a practical application.

3. Extruded heatsink selection

EC 2008 @ CEK Graph 1

3.2. Forced convection mode use of surface area

EC 2008 @ CEK Graph 2

EC 2008 @ CEK 60 1.12

Solution: First calculate the outlet air temperature rise:

Horizontal Up 70% effective

Horizontal Down 60% effective

5. Peltier effect devices

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