COMe-mEL10 - User Guide Rev. 1.1
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2.5.
Thermal Management
2.5.1.
Heatspreader Plate Assembly and Metal Heat Slug
A heatspreader plate (HSP) assembly is NOT a heat sink. The heatspreader plate works as a COM Express® standard
thermal interface to be used in conjunction with a heat sink or external cooling devices. External cooling must be
provided to maintain the heatspreader plate at proper operating temperatures. Under worst-case conditions, the
cooling mechanism must maintain an ambient air and heatspreader plate temperature on any spot of the
heatspreader's surface according to the module specifications:
60°C for commercial temperature grade modules
85°C for industrial temperature grade modules (E2)
Commercial temperature grade variants have no preconfigured Intel® heatspreader and the supplied metal heat slug
(packed separately in the delivery box for the heatspreader) must be installed.
Industrial temperature grade variants have a preconfigured Intel® heatspreader and do not require the metal heat slug
to be installed.
For industrial temperature grade variants the multi-chip package comes with a
preconfigured heatspreader and the supplied metal heat slug is not required.
2.5.2.
Active/Passive Cooling Solutions
Both active and passive thermal management approaches can be used with the heatspreader plate. The optimum
cooling solution depends on the COM Express® application and environmental conditions. Kontron’s active or passive
cooling solutions are designed to cover the power and thermal dissipation for a commercial temperature range used in
housing with a suitable airflow. For more information concerning possible cooling solutions, see Table 4: Accessories.
2.5.3.
Operating with Kontron Heatspreader Plate (HSP) Assembly
The operating temperature requirements are:
Maximum ambient temperature with ambient being the air surrounding the module
Maximum measurable temperature on any part on the heatspreader's surface
Table 10: Heatspreader Temperature Specification
Temperature Grade
Requirements
Commercial Grade
at 60°C HSP temperature on MCP @ 100% load needs to run at nominal frequency
Industrial Grade (E2)
at 85°C HSP temperature the MCP @ 50% load is allowed to start throttling for thermal
protection
2.5.4.
Operating without Kontron Heatspreader Plate (HSP) Assembly
The operating temperature is the maximum measurable temperature on any spot on the module's surface.
