Modern materials technologies in PCB thermal management

Development of faster and more powerful components, along with increasing component density on a PCB, has led to an increase in the power consumption per square inch of PCBs. Any increase in power consumption also leads to an increase in the amount of heat being produced. The necessity for thermal management has been shown by this paper as something that needs to be accessed at the early stages of design. Forward thinking as to how hot and where heat will be concentrated during a system's life is a primary concern for reliable service. The design example shown has processing components sited at the centre of the PCB surrounded by cooler memory component. If thought was given towards thermal management at the initial design stage, then the board may have been designated to run cooler if the 'hotter' processing components had been sited closer towards the cold walls as this would dissipate heat more efficiently.