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80 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2022 In this column, I'll be looking at how to help you improve reliability through thermal man- agement. Poor reliability arising from ther- mally induced circuit failures might prove detrimental to brand reputation, but if the application served a critical role, the outcome would be unthinkable. Such applications might include: • A safety-critical device upon which the safety of personnel working in a hazardous environment might depend • One that simply would not function without proper thermal management procedures in place • A device that has a defined working tem- perature range when in use, or a piece of equipment designed to work in harsh or extreme conditions, which must work reliably, regardless of those conditions ere are a variety of thermal management materials to choose from, and they serve dif- ferent purposes depending upon the physi- cal constraints of the application, component layout and assembly geometry, the environ- ment in which the assembly will be placed, the severity of duty, and so on. en there are more specific questions to ask, such as what's essential for efficient heat transfer, or should I use a bonding or non-bonding material? So without further ado, lets address this in our five-point format. 1. What key issues must be considered when trying to achieve efficient heat transfer? Again, think variability of environmental conditions. Just because the heat transfer is efficient under standard ambient conditions, doesn't mean that it will remain stable over Optimize Your Thermal Management Sensible Design by Jade Bridges, ELECTROLUBE