Reading time ( words)
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of "The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to... Thermal Management With Insulated Metal Substrates," written by Ventec International Group’s Didier Mauve and Ian Mayoh. In this free eBook, the authors provide PCB designers with the essential information required to understand the thermal, electrical, and mechanical characteristics of insulated metal substrate laminates.
Chapter 5: Design Considerations
Choosing the Material to Suit the Application
By proactively considering thermal issues at the earliest stages of the design process, designers have the opportunity to improve the efficiency and reliability of their devices.
Martin Cotton, director of OEM Marketing at Ventec International Group, said, “At the end of the day, the solution needs to suit the product and be cost-effective, and not belt and braces because we don’t understand the parameters at play. Shortcuts will result in one of two outcomes: a product that isn’t fit for the purpose, or a product that is so over-engineered that it fails to be a cost-effective solution.”
A Word of Caution
It is advisable to systematically evaluate and characterize an insulated metal substrate material for a particular application rather than rely entirely on datasheet information, which may overstate certain critical parameters or be difficult to use comparatively as a consequence of different manufacturers using in-house test methods to generate critical datasheet values. Until the insulated metal substrate market matures and a universally accepted set of test methods emerges, inconsistent test methods will result in some anomalies and make direct correlation of datasheet values difficult.
To download this free eBook, published by I-Connect007, click here.
To view the entire I-Connect007 eBook library, click here.
