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Thermal Design of Semiconductor Components in Electronic EquipmentFuture Thermal Simulations

2023.08.09

Points of this article

・In order to reduce man-hours at all stages from design through to mass production, front-loading of thermal design is making headway.

・In order to promote front-loading, accurate thermal simulations are of key importance.

table of contents

・Front-loading of Thermal Design
・Thermal Simulation Model

As indicated in “About Thermal Design“, “Changes in Engineering Trends and Thermal Design“, and “A Mutual Understanding of Thermal Design“, the essence of thermal design has evolved from its previous form, and design methods have also seen much innovation. In particular, thermal simulation techniques have advanced considerably, and accuracy has improved to the point where simulations can be substituted for actual measurements.

Front-loading of Thermal Design

In order to reduce the man-hours required from the start of product design through to mass production, and in particular to minimize reworking related to faults, debugging, and changes in design, efforts are underway to introduce thermal design utilizing thermal simulations from the beginning stages of design. This approach, called “front-loading”, makes use of simulations and other techniques, emphasizing the initial steps with the goal of reducing overall man-hours.
The following graphic is a schematic illustration of front-loading.

In processes from the beginning of product design through to mass production, as the mass production stage is approached it becomes more difficult to make changes and modifications, and the costs and resources required are greater. In order to hold such costs and the like to a minimum, a high-quality, well-verified design must be achieved as early in the design process as possible. In the past, design problems were generally discovered through prototyping, and corresponding modifications and alterations were made. But through front-loading which invests time and man-hours in conceptual design and basic design, the man-hours needed for prototyping and later stages can be reduced. Thermal simulations are extremely effective for front-loading of thermal design, and as mentioned above, such simulations have become highly accurate.

Through improved accuracy of thermal simulations, whereas in the past thermal simulations were performed to deal with heat issues, henceforth they will be of central importance in promoting the front-loading of thermal design.

Thermal Simulation Model

The thermal simulation model used is highly important for accurate thermal simulations. Below are shown representative thermal simulation models. The “detailed model” can be expected to yield accurate thermal simulations, but such models, rather than conforming to standards, are basically proprietary to the manufacturer; a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or the like may be required before they are provided.

Unfortunately, thermal simulation models have not been prepared for all discrete components and LSIs (ICs). In cases of devices without such models, it may be possible to deal with a device by using the “semiconductor package thermal parameter estimation tool^*1” installed on the website of the Semiconductor Packaging Technical Committee^*1 of JEITA (The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association). The activities of the committee and other relevant matters are also presented, and the website is worth a visit.
*1:Japanese only.

【Download Documents】 Thermal Design of Semiconductor Components in Electronics

Thermal design has become a new issue in the design of electronic equipment in recent years, as thermal countermeasures have been the focus of attention. Although heat has been an important consideration for some time, the requirements for electronic equipment have changed in recent years, making it necessary to review conventional thermal countermeasures. This handbook describes thermal design based on the assumption that ICs and transistors are basically used in electronic equipment.

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