Pixelized Thermal Conductivity for Printed Circuit Boards
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for determining effective thermal conductivity in printed circuit boards are inaccurate, often under-predicting values due to the lack of consideration for thermal interaction between conductor paths, leading to inefficient thermal modeling and management.
Innovation Solution
A pixel-based method that creates a pixelized representation of printed circuit board layers, separating conductor and dielectric pixels to compute effective thermal conductivity by analyzing net and isolated pixels, and applying a flow length correction factor to account for heat flow and volume fractions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a digital image is divided into patches and converted into effective thermal conductivities by analyzing each row and column, then the computation process is simplified, but the measurement precision of thermal conductivity is reduced due to under-prediction of effective thermal conductivities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the computational parameters from simple row and column analysis to a more sophisticated model that considers conductor path connectivity, net pixels, and isolated pixels. This parameter change allows the system to maintain computational simplicity while significantly improving thermal conductivity prediction accuracy by accounting for heat flow through connected conductor paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary concepts of net pixels and isolated pixels as mediators between the simple patch division and the final thermal conductivity calculation. Net pixels represent conductors on heat flow paths, while isolated pixels represent conductors not on primary heat flow paths. This intermediary classification enables more accurate thermal conductivity prediction without substantially increasing computational complexity.
2Measurement precision
If an accurate three-dimensional model is employed to predict temperature distribution, then the measurement precision of thermal conductivity is improved, but the productivity is reduced due to excessive computation time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the conductor layer into distinct pixel categories (net pixels and isolated pixels) based on their role in heat flow paths. This segmentation allows the computation to focus on the thermally significant elements (connected conductor paths) while simplifying or excluding less significant elements (isolated pixels), thereby achieving accurate thermal conductivity prediction with reduced computation time compared to full three-dimensional modeling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and focuses computation on the essential thermal conduction paths by identifying net pixels that lie on conductor paths connecting heat sources to sinks. By taking out and separately analyzing only the pixels that contribute significantly to heat flow, the method achieves three-dimensional model accuracy for thermal conductivity while maintaining the computational efficiency of a simplified approach.
3Measurement precision
If correction factors are applied to compensate for under-prediction errors, then the measurement precision of thermal conductivity is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional correction steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary classification of pixels into net pixels and isolated pixels before the thermal conductivity calculation. By pre-identifying which conductors are on heat flow paths and which are isolated, the method built-in accuracy into the fundamental calculation approach rather than requiring post-hoc correction factors. This preliminary action eliminates the need for additional correction steps while maintaining computational simplicity.
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
This approach provides more accurate thermal conductivity values, closely matching those derived from rigorous three-dimensional models, improving thermal modeling and management in printed circuit boards.
Implementation Method 1
The pixelized representation having two types of pixels: conductor pixels and dielectric pixels; analyzing the pixelized representation to identify conductor paths in a direction, the conductor paths being formed by some or all of the conductor pixels
Data Source
AI summary
Various aspects of the disclosed technology relate to pixel-based thermal conductivity determination. A pixelized representation is created for a conductor layer of a printed circuit board. The pixelized representation is analyzed to identify conductor paths in a direction. Based on the conductor paths, the conductor pixels separated into net pixels and isolated pixels. An effective thermal conductivity property value in the direction is then computed for a section or a whole of the conductor layer based on the number of the isolated pixels, the number of the net pixels and the number of total pixels in the section or the whole of the conductor layer.