Pin Fin Heat Sink from ATS Combines Economy with High Performance Cooling

Norwood, MA, May 04, 2011 --(PR.com)-- During physical testing, a network equipment manufacturer discovered an overly hot component on a crowded circuit board they had missed while performing CFD. With a limited budget near the end of the project, the designers needed a cooling solution for the small BGA that was closely surrounded by other components and had very little head room. The congested enclosure had only 20mm cooling fans to provide active air flow across the board. No space or budget was available for a fan sink.

The customer contacted ATS for help. The thermal engineers at ATS provided the cooling solution with a high efficiency pin fin heat sink. The low pressure drop pin fin design provided a large enough surface area to maximize heat sink performance by enhancing exposure of heat to cooling ambient air. The black-anodized aluminum sink came preassembled with a high performance thermal interface material (TIM) that enhanced the thermal transfer from component to sink.

The ATS pin fin heat sink recommended was the ATS010010002-PF-1A. At just 10 mm long x 10 mm wide x 2 mm high it provided just 19.6°C/W thermal resistance in the ambient airflow. The size, thermal resistance, and price were the right mix for the application. The passive heat sink is made from solid extruded aluminum void of the interfacial thermal resistances in bonded fin heat sinks. The lightweight aluminum allows the sink to be attached with an inexpensive thermal adhesive tape. This approach kept the company’s program on track without causing a schedule slip.

More information on economical straight fin heat sinks is available from Advanced Thermal Solutions by visiting their site at http://www.qats.com/Products/Heat-Sinks/BGA-Heat-Sink--%28High-Aspect-Ratio-Ext.%29/Custom-Pin-Fin/13.aspx or by calling 781-769-2800.

###