Heat Conduction in Printed Circuit Boards: A Mesoscale Modeling Approach

Abstract

An analytical model is developed to estimate the heat transfer performance of printed circuit board (PCBs). The PCB under study is the substrate for a ball-grid-array (BGA) package. Under the BGA, the PCB has a belt of densely populated through-vias that penetrate the laminate of horizontal copper and resin; outside the BGA-covered area the board is a copper/resin laminate and its surfaces are exposed to cooling air. Calculations are performed on a sample board having the dimensions 11×11 cm2 (footprint)×1.26 mm (thickness). The model of the board has two internal layers of continuous copper (0.03 mm thick) and through-vias under a 4.4×4.4 cm2 BGA package. The impacts of board design parameters on the temperature and the heat flow are presented; the parameters are the width of the insulation gap around the via, the area of copper coverage at the via bottom, and the population of vias.