Thermal Modeling of PCB Magnetic Components based on Finite Element 2D Thermal Networks

Abstract:
PCB magnetic components have had great acceptance in the low power industry due to the possibility of automated series manufacture, low profile and the accuracy of parasitics calculation. However, high compactness and the use of insulation materials with poor thermal quality lead to low heat dissipation, which limits its use in high power applications, where the temperature rise can be critical. In the state of the art, thermal networks are commonly used for hot spot approximation in early design stages, while Finite Element (FE) tools are employed for verification. When it comes to optimization, simple thermal networks are not accurate enough, and Finite Element tools are time consuming. In this work, a thermal model is developed which achieves both accuracy and computation speed. This model is not restricted to, but recommended for PCB components, and enables analysis of multiple different designs in a short period of time.