The precision-engineered heat pipe for cooling Pentium II in CompactPCI design

The CompactPCI standard was developed originally by Ziatech. It provides a way to combine the performance and the low cost of the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnection) standard with a small, rugged computer form factor ideal for embedded applications. It functions as a 6U CompactPCI peripheral processor in a CompactPCI multiprocessing system (CompactPCI/MP), and operates in a peripheral slot, while the system CPU master operates in the system slot. The ZT 5540 is an ideal solution for telecommunication applications, such as pre-processor or protocol converter functions. The board occupies one or two CompactPCI slots depending on the configuration. A 14-watt processor module for the CompactPCI needs a proper thermal management solution under its thermal specifications. The challenge of the thermal management solution includes both thermal and mechanical design. Heat pipes are passive devices with high reliability and low cost. They have been widely used in electronic cooling. Transferring the heat load from the heat source to another location where the space is available for the heat sink is one of the major advantages of the heat pipe. With the special features of the heat pipe, both thermal and mechanical challenges of the thermal management solution can be achieved. The thermal analysis on the design is presented and subsequently verified by the test data.