A modeling method for thermal steady-state simulation of the four-layer printed circuit board

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Thermal Management
• Computational Modeling

Background:

• Printed Circuit Board (PCB) thermal management is crucial for reliable electronic device operation.
• Identifying and mitigating overheating risks in PCBs is essential to prevent component failure.
• Existing simulation methods can be computationally intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient and accurate thermal simulation method for PCBs.
• To integrate electro-thermal analysis for improved PCB design.
• To validate the proposed modeling approach against experimental data and commercial software.

Main Methods:

• Combines Fourier-series analytical solutions for prepreg surfaces with finite volume method for metal layers.
• Approximates lateral heat transfer and treats the core layer as thermally-thick.
• Incorporates temperature-dependent boundary conditions through iterative calculations and develops a test solver.

Main Results:

• Validated modeling accuracy against COMSOL Multiphysics for a four-layer PCB.
• Confirmed simulation results with thermal imaging of a 3.3V DC-generating PCB.
• Demonstrated reduction in Joule heating, IR drop, and hotspot temperature through layout adjustments.

Conclusions:

• The proposed hybrid analytical-numerical method provides an accurate and efficient tool for PCB thermal simulation.
• Integrated electro-thermal analysis aids in optimizing PCB layout for thermal performance.
• The method effectively reduces hotspot temperatures and IR drop, improving overall PCB reliability.