FloEFD For Electronics
Proven simulation and characterization solutions for the electronics industry from the leader in thermal analysis
Mentor’s thermal design solutions reduce overall design time, reduce late-design rework, reduce time-to-market, increase reliability, and reduce the final cost of electronics products. Solve most design problems associated with cooling for electronics, including IC package and heatsink design, thermal design of printed circuit boards, and selection of cooling fans.
Chip-level Design Tasks
As components shrink, thinner die result in greater inter-die temperature variation, so that junction temperature can no longer be considered a single value. Intra-die effects resulting from die stacking makes hot spot temperature and location dependant on the power distribution on the die, and is a function the use profile. Detailed package thermal models and die power maps are needed for the most challenging products designs with active power management. In the semiconductor industry, 3D-ICs are forcing IC design flows to become temperature-aware.
Applications
Component-level Design Tasks
Accurate component temperature prediction is necessary to ensure components operate within safe limits. Across the design flow, a component’s representation must evolve predict heat flux split between the board and the air or attached heatsink, case temperature, and junction temperature, and in extreme cases temperature variation across the die itself. Suppliers are required to provide thermal models to their customers that support their design needs.
Applications
- Case temperature prediction
- Compact model creation
- Detailed Model Calibration
- Thermoelectric (Peltier) coolers
- Die Attach Characterization
- IC/component testing
PCB-level Design Tasks
PCB cooling depends strongly on the local air flow distribution, which is disrupted as air passes over the components on the board, leading to maldistribution, recirculations and hot spots on the board, and is exacerbated by the addition of heatsinks. Component placement and the design of the board itself strongly influence component cooling. Cooling can be enhanced by careful attention to the copper content and layout close to the component, and through the use of thermal vias below components.
Applications
Enclosure-level Design Tasks
Electronics cooling is a challenge that starts at the system-level, particularly for air-cooled electronics. Air flow through the system cools the electronics, but is disrupted by the electronics and other internal geometry. Changes to either the enclosure or the electronics alters the air flow rate and distribution and consequently the cooling, making adding heatsinks as a design afterthought perilous. Correct sizing and positioning of fans and vents and heatsink sizing and optimization are system-level design tasks.
Applications
- Airflow optimization
- Enclosure thermal design
- Fan sizing, placement & characterization
- Heat pipe solutions & characterization
- Heatsink design, location & characterization
- Liquid cooling solutions
- Touch temperature prediction
- Vent sizing, design & location
Room-level Design Tasks
In datacenters, the design of the cooling system has a great influence on whether or not the datacentre will be able to achieve its design capacity and not be limited by cooling issues. The choice of cooling system dramatically affects operating cost and thermal interaction between racks. This thermal interaction makes the deploying, moving or refreshing assets an unacceptable business risk for today’s mission critical facilities.
Applications
