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24 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2022 e best possible feature for the high-speed PCB designer would be instant qualification against signaling standards at the click of a but- ton. is is a simple pass/fail type of evalua- tion tool. I'd like to know whether my DDR4 routing is actually going to comply with DDR4 standards before I get too far along in a design, otherwise we risk ripping up tracks and adjust- ing placement. To be fair, some simulation platforms are working toward automating common field solver-based analyses that are required to eval- uate SI/PI/EMI, as well as channel or stan- dards compliance. Still, these tools come with a huge price tag, so the individual designer is effectively priced out of the market. A stripped-down, highly automated PCB simu- lation suite inside ECAD soware would help level the playing field for designers of all skill levels. DESIGN007 Zach Peterson is the founder of Northwest Engineering Solutions and an Altium consultant. As the second in a two-part series, this book from Ventec builds on the material presented in the first by describing up-to-the-minute products and design techniques for thermal management with IMS. The first volume comprehensively covers prin- ciples of heat transfer and modeling of thermal systems to help engineers quantify the thermal-management challenges in the application at hand, the nature of IMS, typical material parameters, and the choices available for designers to reach the desired performance. We recommend reading the first book in order to understand the issue from first principles, how to navigate the many material choices offered, and appreciate how adjusting the various combinations of material types and thicknesses can help you arrive at a solution that meets your requirements from all standpoints, particularly system reliability, size, cost, and manu- facturability. The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to... Ther- mal Management with Insulated Metal Substrates, Volume 2, covers additional use cases and mate- rials, including those used for high-temperature applications as well as high-emissivity surface treatment that can significantly enhance thermal performance. A web-based thermal calculator is demostrated, which helps arrive at the exact size of baseplate needed to achieve the desired thermal performance in the smallest possible volume—much smaller than would be possible using a suitably sized heatsink. Volume 2 delves deeper into issues such as test methods and how these can affect assessments of IMS mate- rials and analyzes the effects of tol- erances in material properties and thickness on the overall thermal con- ductivity. Understanding this can criti- cally influence measurement error, ultimately determining whether or not an accurate result for reliability can be calculated. The authors look at how problems such as solder cracks affect thermal performance, and share appli- cation examples showing design with multilayer IMS. As application challenges have evolved, and new component types and thermal materials have entered the market, there is more to say about thermal management and the options available to designers striving for an effective, economical, and compact solution to meet system- reliability targets. Download this title today! BOOK EXCERPT The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to... Thermal Management with Insulated Metal Substrates, Volume 2