Abstract:

In recent years the printed circuit board computer-aided design (PCB CAD) industries gave spent a considerable amount of effort in the development of sophisticated tools for schematic capture, component placement, electrical simulation, and routing.  However, except for some thermal analysis programs, thermal reliability design concepts have not been integrated into the rest of the design process.  PCBs must be design to with stand the heat dissipated by the components in the environment in which the PCB resides.  This requires that not only the tools for thermal design and analysis be in place, but that there is also a means to correct the design based on thermal reliability prediction before design changes can be economically accepted.

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