Kontron SMARC-sA3874i - Manual (Page 72)

72 www.kontron.com
User’s Guide
6 Thermal Design Considerations
6.1 Thermal Management
A heat spreader plate assembly is available from Kontron for the ULP-COM sA3874i module. The heat spreader
plate on top of this assembly is NOT a heat sink. It works as a ULP-COM®- standard thermal interface to be used
with a heat sink or other cooling device.
External cooling must be provided to maintain the heat spreader plate at proper operating temperatures. Under
worst-case conditions, the cooling mechanism must maintain an ambient air and heat spreader plate temperature
of 60° C or less.
The aluminum slugs and thermal pads on the underside of the heat spreader assembly implement thermal
interfaces between the heat spreader plate and the major heat-generating components on the sA3874i Module.
About 80% of the power dissipated within the module is conducted to the heatspreader plate and can be removed
by the cooling solution.
You can use passive thermal-management solutions with the heatspreader plates. The optimum cooling solution
varies, depending on the ULP-COM® application and environmental conditions.
6.2 Heat Spreader Dimensions
The ULP-COM sA3874i module includes two mounting holes for mounting the passive heat sink, located to the left
and right of the TI Cortex A8 SoC. Heat spreader dimensions are shown in the diagram below. (“TIM” stands for
Thermal Interface Material)
Figure 16: Heat Spreader