OKI Circuit Technology has just unveiled an innovation that could prove crucial in the field of printed circuits (PCB). This could transform our approach to cooling electronic components.
This new design from OKI Circuit Technology allowsimprove heat dissipation up to 55 times compared to traditional solutions. The Japanese company, with its 50 years of experience in PCB manufacturing, has developed a unique technology using stepped copper “pieces”. These structures, similar to rivets, are integrated directly into the printed circuit and exist in two formats: circular or rectangular.
The principle is ingenious: these copper pieces pass through the PCB, creating an effective thermal bridge between the components and the outside. For example, a stepped part can have a diameter of 7 mm in contact with the electronic component and widen up to 10 mm on the dissipation surface, thus maximizing the heat exchange surface.
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The solution to combat overheating of our devices?
With the increasing miniaturization of components and the increase in their power, traditional cooling solutions such as fans sometimes become impossible to implement. This is especially true in extreme environments like space, where air cooling is impossible.
Design flexibility is therefore a major advantage of this technology. Engineers can choose between circular or rectangular parts depending on the shape of the components to be cooled. Rectangular parts are particularly effective for electronic components of similar shape, optimizing the contact surface and therefore heat transfer.
This advance could have important implications beyond its initial use in space and miniature devices. Motherboard manufacturers like Asus, ASRock, Gigabyte and MSI, already known for their extensive use of copper, could potentially integrate this technology to improve the cooling of their products.
Masaya Suzuki, president of OTC, confirmed that the company is currently working on developing mass production technologies. The objective is to make this innovation accessible for compact devices and space applications where traditional cooling methods are unsuitable. It now remains to be seen when the first products equipped with this cooling solution will see the light of day.
