Thermal Clad Benefits Include:

• Lower operating temperature
• Reduce printed circuit board size
• Increase power density
• Extend the life of dies
• Reduce the number of interconnects
• Improve product thermal and mechanical performance
• Combine power and control
• Improve product durability
• Enable better use of surface mount technology
• Reduce heat sinks and other mounting hardware including thermal interface material
• Replace fragile ceramic substrates with greater mechanical durability
  

Thermal Clad is a versatile substrate. In this motor control application, the dielectric has been selectively removed and the metal base has been formed with three-dimensional features.

Motor control Thermal Clad after power and control devices are mounted. The heat spreading capability has optimized the design, eliminating the need for additional heat sinks.

Improve Durability and Performance

Thermal Clad improves durability because designs can be kept simple while components are kept cool. The low thermal impedance of the Thermal Clad dielectric out-performs other insulators for power components allowing cooler operation.
Thermal Clad keeps assemblies cool by eliminating thermal interfaces and using thermally efficient solder joints. Voltage breakdown and thermal performance improve in potted assemblies using SMDs and bare die on Thermal Clad.
Thermal Clad can also reduce production costs by enabling automated pick-and-place equipment for SMDs.

Reduce Board Size and Replace Hardware

Thermal Clad greatly reduces board space while replacing other components including heat sinks. It offers the opportunity to eliminate mica and grease or rubber insulators under power devices by using direct solder mount to Thermal Clad. In eliminating this older hardware, heat transfer improves.
Interconnects can be eliminated by using etched traces on the Thermal Clad board. In fact, whole sections of PWBs are often eliminated. It permits using surface mount power and passive devices to reduce real estate requirements. With Thermal Clad, many discrete devices can be replaced at the board level.

The Anatomy of a Thermal Clad Board

Circuit Layer

This is the printed circuit foil with thickness of 1oz to 10oz (35-350 祄 ) in standard Thermal Clad.

Dielectric Layer

This offers electrical isolation with minimum thermal resistance. The multiple-layer dielectric is the key element of Thermal Clad, and bonds the base metal and circuit metal together. The dielectric has UL recognition, simplifying agency acceptance of final assemblies.

Base Layer

This is often aluminum, but other metals such as copper may also be used. The most widely used base material thickness is 0.062" (1.6mm) in aluminum, although many thicknesses are available. In some applications, the base layer of metal may not be needed.