Fresh PCB Concepts: Resilience and Renewal in Domestic PCB Manufacturing
Designers Notebook: Power and Ground Distribution Basics
Elementary, Mr. Watson: Heat—The Hidden Villain of Power Electronics
That’s Hot: Ventec’s Goodwin on Thermal Management
January 3, 2018 | Patty Goldman, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
IPC’s fall committee meetings were held in conjunction with SMTA International, as has been the case for several years now. I sat in on some subcommittee meetings, including one on laminates, where I met up with Ventec COO Mark Goodwin for a discussion on thermal management from a laminate supplier’s perspective.
Patty Goldman: Good to see you, Mark. How about we talk about thermal management?
Mark Goodwin: Yes, let’s. From our perspective, there are really two material sets that we consider for thermal management. There's the IMS (insulated metal substrate) materials, the metal-back materials, which started off as an LED lighting story. But it's much, much more than an LED lighting story now, particularly with the development in e-vehicles and hybrid vehicles. There's a lot of e-powertrain, so heavy current moving power around in cars.
The second strand is a new direction for us and the technology is a thermally conductive thin core material, thermally conductive prepreg for building multilayers with thermal conductivity or using those layers and those prepregs in standard multilayer constructions, but as a hybrid, so only putting the thermal management where you need to put it.
Goldman: So, is it sort of somehow self-cooling, then?
Goodwin: The materials have a thermal capacity. They can take heat away from embedded components. For example, people using coin technology (embedding a metal inside the PCB under the high-power components so that heat can be dissipated) may not need to use that, or maybe they can use it in conjunction with thermally conductive prepregs, thermally conductive cores. As a company, we’re publishing an eBook through I-Connect007 on thermal management and the materials for thermal management. It's predominantly an IMS story, but there is some discussion in there about the new materials, thin cores and prepregs, and our thinking about thermal management. So that's thermal resistance and thermal impedance compared with thermal conductivity. There's a lot of confusion, particularly at the design stage, I believe.
Goldman: Thermal management seems to encompass a rather broad area. You must separate the parts.
Goodwin: When we talk about thermal management, we're talking about getting the heat out of components, be that an LED chip, or be that an embedded ‘whatever’ in a multilayer circuit board.
Goldman: Does this facilitate embedding?
Goodwin: Yes, the new materials do.
To read this entire article, which ran in the December 2017 issue of The PCB Design Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Our marketing partnership with I-Connect007 is already delivering. Just a day after our press release went live, we received a direct inquiry about our updated products!"
Rachael Temple - AlltematedSuggested Items
TTCI Brings Hands-On Test Engineering and IPC Training Expertise to PCB Carolina 2025
10/31/2025 | The Test Connection Inc.The Test Connection Inc. (TTCI), a trusted provider of electronic test and manufacturing solutions, and The Training Connection LLC (TTC-LLC) will exhibit at PCB Carolina on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at the McKimmon Center at NC State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Attendees can visit Table 4 to say hello to Bert Horner and Bill Graver, and learn more about their test engineering services and technical training programs.
The Training Connection Continues to Grow with Addition of Veteran IPC Trainer Bill Graver
10/30/2025 | The Training Connection LLCThe Training Connection, LLC (TTC-LLC), a premier provider of test engineering and development training, is proud to announce the addition of Bill Graver to its growing team of industry experts. A respected professional with more than 35 years in electronics manufacturing, Bill joins as an IPC Master Trainer, bringing a wealth of hands-on experience in PCB testing, failure analysis, and process improvement.
Electronics Industry Warns Mexico Tariffs Could Undercut U.S. Manufacturing and Supply Chain Resilience
10/24/2025 | Global Electronics AssociationAs negotiations over U.S.–Mexico trade policies near an October 29 deadline, the Global Electronics Association released a new policy brief, From Risk to Resilience: Why Mexico Matters to U.S. Manufacturing.
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Revamp Your Components with BGA Reballing
10/14/2025 | Nash Bell -- Column: Knocking Down the Bone PileBall grid array (BGA) components evolved from pin grid array (PGA) devices, carrying over many of the same electrical benefits while introducing a more compact and efficient interconnect format. Instead of discrete leads, BGAs rely on solder balls on the underside of the package to connect to the PCB. In some advanced designs, solder balls are on both the PCB and the BGA package. In stacked configurations, such as package-on-package (PoP), these solder balls also interconnect multiple packages, enabling higher functionality in a smaller footprint.
New Course Presents a Comprehensive Guide to IPC Standards
10/10/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007Francisco Fourcade, electronics technology standards manager for the Global Electronics Association, has spent years helping companies understand and implement the standards that keep the electronics manufacturing industry moving forward. In this interview, he shares updates on ongoing standards development efforts and previews a new course, "IPC Standards: A Guide for the Electronics Industry,” which starts Oct. 14.