Comparative thermal performances of various substrate materials in a simple packaging application: actual vs. predicted

Experiments to confirm the predictions of a finite-element model of the thermal performance of several substrate materials in a simple package application are described. Packages closely resembling those addressed in a previous model study were prepared. Thermal test chips containing both resistive heating elements and temperature-sensing elements were used for the measurements. Each of the test packages were successively placed in natural-convection, forced-convection, and heat-sink environments, and its respective performance monitored. The results, which are presented and discussed, closely support the predictions of the earlier model study, although numerical discrepancies were noted