Title :
Investigation on current density limits in power printed circuit boards
Author :
Coppola, Luisa ; Cottet, Didier ; Wildner, Franz
Author_Institution :
Corp. Res., ABB Switzerland Ltd., Baden
Abstract :
Joule heating of copper traces is known as one major failure cause in high current printed circuit boards. The paper summarizes tests that were performed to investigate the actual failure mechanisms related to high current densities. The current values at which the boards failed show how conservative the present design rules for traces and via holes are. An electrothermal modeling method for printed circuit board is proposed for further analysis of current and temperature distributions in different layout configurations and under different load conditions.
Keywords :
copper; current density; current distribution; failure analysis; printed circuits; temperature distribution; thermal management (packaging); Joule heating; copper traces; current density; current distribution; electrothermal modeling method; failure mechanism; power printed circuit board; temperature distribution; Conducting materials; Conductors; Copper; Current density; Failure analysis; Glass; Heating; Power electronics; Printed circuits; Temperature distribution;
Conference_Titel :
Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, 2008. APEC 2008. Twenty-Third Annual IEEE
Conference_Location :
Austin, TX
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1873-2
Electronic_ISBN :
1048-2334
DOI :
10.1109/APEC.2008.4522723
