IEI Integration ICE-DB-9S - Manual (Page 113)

ICE Module
Page 100
Figure 6-5: Compact, Basic and Extended Form Factor
6.5 Heat Spread
An important factor for each system integration is the thermal design. The
heatspreader acts as a thermal coupling device to the Module. Usually It is a 3mm
thick aluminum plate. The heatspreader is thermally coupled to the CPU via a thermal
gap filler and on some Modules it may also be thermally coupled to other heat
generating components with the use of additional thermal gap fillers. Although the
heatspreader is the thermal interface where most of the heat generated by the Module
is dissipated, it is not to be considered as a heat sink. It has been designed to be used
as a thermal interface between the Module and the application specific thermal
solution.
The application specific thermal solution may use heat sinks with fans, and/or heat
pipes, which can be attached to the heatspreader. Some thermal solutions may also
require that the heatspreader is attached directly to the systems chassis therefore
using the whole chassis as a heat dissipater. The main mechanical mounting solutions
for systems based on COM Express Modules have proven to be the 'top-mounting'
and 'bottom-mounting' solutions. The decision as to which solution will be used is
determined by the mechanical construction and the cooling solution of the customer's
system. There are two variants of the heatspreader, one for each mounting possibility.