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6
Design Consideration
6.1
Thermal Management
A heat-spreader plate assembly is available from Kontron Embedded Modules for the microETXexpress-SP. The
heatspreader plate on top of this assembly is NOT a heat sink. It works as a COM Express™-standard thermal interface
to use with a heat sink or other cooling device.
External cooling must be provided to maintain the heat-spreader plate at proper operating temperatures. Under
worst-case conditions, the cooling mechanism must maintain an ambient air and heat-spreader plate temperature of
60° C or less.
The aluminum slugs and thermal pads on the underside of the heat-spreader assembly implement thermal interfaces
between the heat spreader plate and the major heat-generating components on the microETXexpress®-SP. About 80
percent of the power dissipated within the module is conducted to the heat-spreader plate and can be removed by the
cooling solution.
You can use many thermal-management solutions with the heat-spreader plates, including active and passive
approaches. The optimum cooling solution varies, depending on the COM Express® application and environmental
conditions. Please see the COM Express® Design Guide for further information on thermal management.
6.2
Heatspreader Dimensions
Documentation of microETXexpress-SP heatspreader is available in Kontron's customer section.
54
microETXexpress®-SP / Design Consideration
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