Thermal design considerations in system level testing of electronic devices

System level testing requires precise thermal control of electronic devices under dynamic loads at prescribed test temperatures. Thermal design considerations for all the thermal components, including liquid cooler, thermoelectric module (TEM), solid thermal interface material and TEM holder, are presented and discussed. Whereas the nominal power has been mostly used for initial selection of the TEM, a system approach should be utilized in the design analysis and optimization of the thermal control unit. Based on computational and analytical approaches, the test hardware can be improved through the adoption of better TEM cooling capacity, more compact liquid cooler, thermally enhanced solid thermal interface material, and tapering TEM holder.