PCB glass-fibre laminates: Thermal conductivity measurements and their effect on simulation
Abstract
Accurate values of thermal conductivity are required for the simulation of temperature phenomena in electronic circuits. This paper presents the results of measurements carried out to determine the thermal conductivity along and normal to the plane of fibre glass laminates used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards. It has been found that the reinforced fibre-glass substrates used in PCBs are strongly anisotropic with the conductivity normal to the boards being much smaller than tangential to it. The test samples were type FR4 epoxy/glass laminates. An experiment has been designed which determines the thermal conductivity in-the-plane of the laminates by matching the measured temperature distribution along a heated specimen with a finite difference solution. An electrically heated Lees' disc apparatus is also used to measure the thermal conductivity of these boards in a direction normal to their plane. The samples tested yielded values of 0.343 W/mK and 1.059 W/mK for thermal conductivity through and along the plane of the boards, respectively.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Electronic Materials
- Pub Date:
- December 1990
- DOI:
- 10.1007/BF02662823
- Bibcode:
- 1990JEMat..19.1345S
- Keywords:
-
- Thermal conductivity;
- PCB;
- substrate;
- glass-fibre