Article

Online Vicor tools: thermal calculator

Thermal calculations required when selecting heat sinking are relatively straightforward but can be time-consuming, particularly if you want to investigate the impact of changes to certain parameters. To help speed up the process of determining what heat sink is required for your design, the Vicor tool suite includes a calculator that lets you quickly and easily evaluate thermal issues for heat sink selection.

The tool can make four separate calculations:

• The maximum output power, given certain thermal conditions
• The maximum thermal impedance allowable for a given power system
• The maximum ambient operating temperature
• The temperature rise that will be seen on the baseplate or packaging of a power component in specific circumstances.

Originally designed for use with Vicor modules, the tool can also be applied to thermal calculations for our other products. For more in-depth calculations, there is an option to download an Excel spreadsheet.

Ensuring adequate heat sinking is critical for reliable power system operation. Try the thermal calculation for heat sink selection, and see how it could speed up your development process.