Patterned Heat Spreader Tiles for EMC Thermal Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-frequency electrical components face challenges with heat conductor devices that also act as radiators or reflectors, interfering with their functioning, and existing materials like ceramics are expensive and have poor thermal conductivity, while polymers offer poor heat conducting properties.
Innovation Solution
A heat conductor device with a patterned heat spreader comprising thermally conducting tiles separated by gaps, designed to maximize thermal conductivity while minimizing electrical conductivity, preventing electromagnetic interference and radiation, using materials like graphite or aluminium with specific tile and gap dimensions to enhance thermal performance without compromising EMC characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If materials with good thermal conductivity (such as metal) are used for heat conductor devices, then thermal conductivity is improved, but electrical conductivity increases causing the device to act as a radiator or reflector of electromagnetic waves
Solution Approach 1:
The heat conductor device is segmented into an array of discrete thermally conducting tiles separated by gaps. This segmentation breaks the continuous conductive path that would otherwise allow electromagnetic currents to flow across the entire surface, preventing the device from acting as a radiator or reflector while maintaining thermal conductivity through the individual tiles.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat conductor device has non-uniform electrical conductivity - high conductivity within each tile for heat transfer, but low conductivity across gaps to block electromagnetic interference. This local differentiation of conductivity properties allows simultaneous optimization of thermal performance and electromagnetic compatibility.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If non-conducting or poorly electrically conducting materials such as ceramics or plastics are used, then electromagnetic interference is reduced, but thermal conductivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The heat conductor device uses a composite structure combining electrically insulating base material (ceramic or plastic) with embedded thermally conducting tiles (metal or graphite). This composite approach allows the base material to provide electromagnetic isolation while the conducting tiles provide enhanced thermal conduction paths, achieving both low electromagnetic interference and high thermal conductivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat conductor device incorporates a porous or gap-filled structure where thermally conducting material is distributed through the insulating matrix. The gaps between tiles serve dual purposes: blocking electromagnetic currents while allowing thermal conduction through the conducting tiles and potentially through the gap regions if filled with thermally conductive material.
3Reliability
If the area of individual tiles is increased to improve heat conducting properties, then thermal conductivity is improved, but the tiles may start to absorb electromagnetic energy
Solution Approach 1:
The dimensions of the tiles are carefully controlled to fall within specific parameter ranges - large enough to provide effective thermal conduction but small enough (below electromagnetic wavelengths) to prevent resonance and electromagnetic energy absorption. This parameter optimization allows simultaneous achievement of good thermal performance and electromagnetic compatibility.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If the gaps between tiles are increased to block electrical currents, then electromagnetic interference is reduced, but heat conducting properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The gap structure is designed as a controlled porous or spaced arrangement where the gaps are sufficient to block electromagnetic currents but minimized in size and optimized in configuration to maintain thermal conduction. The gaps create electromagnetic isolation while the close spacing and potential thermal contact through the insulating matrix preserve heat transfer efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The patterned heat spreader significantly increases effective thermal conductivity, allowing larger cooling surfaces and higher power dissipation, reducing costs and weight, and enabling greater design flexibility, while maintaining acceptable EMC characteristics, effectively addressing the limitations of traditional heat sinks.
Implementation Method 1
a body provided with a heat spreader comprising a pattern of thermally conducting tiles
Implementation Method 2
each gap forms a distance between adjacent tiles that is large enough to function as a barrier against electrical currents
Implementation Method 3
Each tile has an area that is small enough to prevent an individual tile from absorbing electromagnetic energy originating from the high-frequency currents inside the electrical component
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a heat conductor device (10) for removing heat from an electrical component (12) operating in a frequency range, the device comprising a body (13) having a first thermal conductivity, characterized in that the body (13) is provided with a heat spreader (14) comprising a pattern of thermally conducting tiles (20, 50, 51, 52, 61) separated by gaps (21), the tiles having a second thermal conductivity higher than the first thermal conductivity, wherein each tile has at most a maximum area value and the gaps have at least a minimum gap width, and the maximum area and the minimum width are dimensioned for conforming to a predetermined electromagnetic interference characteristic of the heat conductor device when combined with the electrical component operating in the frequency range. The invention also provides a method for forming a heat conductor device.