Applied Electronics

Heat Sink

1
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 Heat Sink

• Electronic devices are small in size, thus heat up during

their operation due to I2R losses.
• Transistors are specially affected as they handle large
emitter currents
• If heat generated by transistor is not properly dissipated to
atmosphere, its temperature will continue to rise
• High temperature generates more free electrons and thus
more current
• High temperature will ultimately cause damage to
transistor
 Heat Sink

• A heat sink is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the

heat generated by a device to a cooling medium, where it
is dissipated away from the device, thereby allowing
regulation of the device's temperature at optimal levels.
• The metal sheet that serves to dissipate the additional heat
from the power transistor is known as heat sink.
• Almost all the heat in BJT is produced at reverse biased
collector – base junction.
• Ability of any heat sink to transfer heat to the surroundings
depends upon its material, volume, area, shape, contact
between case and sink and movement of air around the
sink.
 Heat Sink

• A heat sink is usually made out of copper and/or

aluminium.
• Copper is used because it has many desirable properties for
thermally efficient and durable heat exchangers.
• First and foremost, copper is an excellent conductor of
heat.
• This means that copper's high thermal conductivity allows
heat to pass through it quickly.
• Disadvantage of copper is its high cost and weight.
• Aluminum is used in applications where weight is a big
concern.
• Finned aluminium heat sinks yield the best heat transfer
per unit cost.
 Heat Sink

• Heat sink attachment methods and thermal interface

materials also affect the die temperature of the integrated
circuit.
• Thermal adhesive or thermal grease improve the heat sink's
performance by filling air gaps between the heat sink and
the heat spreader on the device.
• It should be realised that the use of heat sink alone may not
be sufficient to prevent thermal runaway under all
conditions.
 Heat Sink

• In designing a transistor circuit, consideration should also

be given to the choice of
• (i) operating point
• (ii) ambient temperatures which are likely to be
encountered and
• (iii) the type of transistor e.g. metal case transistors are
more readily cooled by conduction than plastic ones.

• Circuits may also be designed to compensate automatically

for temperature changes and thus stabilise the operation of
the transistor components.
 Heat Sink

Pin, straight and flared fin heat sink types

Heat Sink
 Thermal Runaway

• When the transistor is in operation, almost the entire heat is

produced at the collector-base junction.
• This power dissipation causes the junction temperature to
rise.
• This in turn increases the collector current since more
electron-hole pairs are generated due to the rise in
temperature.
• This produces an increased power dissipation in the
transistor and consequently a further rise in temperature.
 Thermal Runaway

• Unless adequate cooling is provided or the transistor has

built-in temperature compensation circuits to prevent
excessive collector current rise, the junction temperature
will continue to increase until the maximum permissible
temperature is exceeded.
• If this situation occurs, the transistor will be permanently
damaged.
• The unstable condition where, owing to rise in
temperature, the collector current rises and continues to
increase is known as thermal runaway.
• Thermal runaway must always be avoided.
• If it occurs, permanent damage is caused and the transistor
must be replaced.
 Thermal Runaway

• Unless adequate cooling is provided or the transistor has

built-in temperature compensation circuits to prevent
excessive collector current rise, the junction temperature
will continue to increase until the maximum permissible
temperature is exceeded.
• If this situation occurs, the transistor will be permanently
damaged.
• The unstable condition where, owing to rise in
temperature, the collector current rises and continues to
increase is known as thermal runaway.
• Thermal runaway must always be avoided.
• If it occurs, permanent damage is caused and the transistor
must be replaced.
 Mathematical relation

• The permissible power dissipation of the transistor is very

important item for power transistors.
• The permissible power rating of a transistor is calculated
from the following relation :
𝑇𝐽 (𝑚𝑎𝑥) −𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏
• 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 =
𝜃
• Where 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = total power dissipated in the transistor,
• 𝑇𝐽 (𝑚𝑎𝑥) =maximum junction temperature. It is 90ºC for
germanium transistors and 150ºC for silicon transistors.
• 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = ambient temperature i.e. temperature of
surrounding air
• θ = thermal resistance i.e. resistance to heat flow from the
junction to the surrounding air. The unit of θ is ºC/watt and
its value is always given in the transistor manual.
 Mathematical Analysis

• A low thermal resistance means that it is easy for heat to

flow from the junction to the surrounding air.
• The larger the transistor case, the lower is the thermal
resistance and vice-versa.
• It is then clear that by using heat sink, the value of θ can be
decreased considerably, resulting in increased power
dissipation.
 Numerical

• A power transistor has thermal resistance θ = 300ºC/W. If

the maximum junction temperature is 90ºC and the
ambient temperature is 30ºC, find the maximum
permissible power dissipation.

• If a heat sink is used with the above transistor, the value of

θ is reduced to 60ºC/W. Find the maximum permissible
power dissipation.
 Solution

• Without heat sink

𝜃 = 3000 𝐶/𝑊,
𝑇𝐽 (𝑚𝑎𝑥) = 900 ,
𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 300

𝑇𝐽 (𝑚𝑎𝑥) −𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏
• 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 =
𝜃

90−30
• 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = = 0.2 𝑊
300
= 200 𝑚𝑊
 Solution

• With heat sink

• 𝜃 = 600 𝐶/𝑊,

𝑇𝐽 (𝑚𝑎𝑥) −𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏
• 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 =
𝜃

90−30
• 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = =1𝑊
60
= 1000 𝑚𝑊
 Numerical

• The total thermal resistance of a power transistor and heat

sink is 20°C/W. The ambient temperature is 25°C and
TJ(max) = 200°C. If VCE = 4 V, find the maximum collector
current that the transistor can carry without destruction.
What will be the allowed value of collector current if
ambient temperature rises to 75°C ?
 Solution
𝑇𝐽 (𝑚𝑎𝑥) −𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 200−25
• 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = = = 8.75 𝑊
𝜃 20

• It means that maximum allowable power dissipation of

transistor at ambient temperature of 25°C is 8.75 W.

• Output power of the transistor is given as

𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑉𝐶𝐸 𝐼𝐶

𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 8.75
• Hence 𝐼𝐶 = = = 2.19 𝐴
𝑉𝐶𝐸 4
 Solution

• For ambient temperature of 75°C

𝑇𝐽 (𝑚𝑎𝑥) −𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏
• 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 =
𝜃
200 − 75
= = 6.25 𝑊
20

𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
• 𝐼𝐶 =
𝑉𝐶𝐸
6.25
= = 1.56 𝐴
4
 Home Work

Maximum allowable junction temperature of an NPN BJT

shown in figure is 750C. Considering θ = 600C/W, find
maximum ambient temperature for safe operation of the
transistor.