Simulation Study of the Temperature Field of a Flexible PCB

The reliability of electronic modules is strongly dependent on their temperature regime. This study presents results about the influence of different parameters of flexible polyimid PCBs and the environment on the temperature field of the device. It is conducted with a specially developed software tool, which implements a previously developed model. The factors that are being analyzed are the dissipated heat by the SMD component, the percentage of the copper layer area from the total area of the PCB, the thickness of the copper layer, the thickness of the PCB, and the air velocity. The obtained results allow us to conclude the two of the parameters have the highest impact on the reduction of the PCB temperature - the copper layer percentage area from the total area of the PCB, and the thickness of the copper layer. To obtain optimal results in terms of thermal regime as well as investment, it is recommended to combine the different approaches together.