Electronic Packaging - MAE 14:650:478

Dr. Saxena
Homework #10
(Submission on SAKAI preferred; can also submit in class or email assignment to
LSAXENA@rci.rutgers.edu)

1. Consider an electronic equipment that has ICs with a maximum junction temperature rating of
125 deg C. The maximum circuit board temperature rise above the outside room ambient is
measured to be 35 deg C.
The heat dissipation and the thermal impedance of some of the representative ICs is given below:
IC #1
IC #2
IC #3

0.5 W
2.0 W
1.0 W

50 deg C / W
18 deg C / W
40 deg C / W

a) What is the maximum allowable circuit board temperature?

b) What is the maximum allowable room ambient air temperature that the equipment can operate
in?
2. Consider a six-layer glass epoxy printed wiring board (PWB), 1.5mm thick and 8 cm wide.
(a) Calculate the thermal resistance along the plane of the PWB over a length of one cm,
assuming the PWB has no copper planes.
(b) Recalculate this resistance if the PWB had two copper planes for power and ground with 1 oz
of copper on each plane. (1 oz of copper plating = 0.035 mm thickness)
3. Consider a double-sided PWB, 1.5mm thick.
a) Calculate the thermal resistance through the thickness of the PWB per square cm of PC
board area.
b) Recalculate this resistance if the PWB had plated through holes with 1 oz copper. Assume
25 holes per square cm, with the drilled hole diameter of 0.30 mm.
4. Calculate the thermal resistance per square cm through the thickness of a glass epoxy board,
1.0mm thick. We would like to reduce this resistance by a factor of 5. This can be achieved by
drilling holes and plating them with 1 oz copper. If the hole diameter is 0.25mm, how many holes
per square cm need to be drilled?