Instrument captures thermal data to profile PCBs, heat sinks

2nd May 2014

Advanced Thermal Solutions (ATS Europe BV)

Mick Elliott

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The iQ-200 instrument measures the temperatures of solid materials and surrounding air, while also tracking air velocity and air pressure. Measurements are taken simultaneously at multiple points to accurately profile heat sinks, PCBs and card racks for testing and characterisation. Developed by Advanced Thermal Solutions, (ATS), the laboratory-grade instrument simultaneously captures thermal data from up to 12 thermocouples which can be J, K, T and E types.

The thermocouples provide surface area temperature measurements on heat sinks, components, housing parts and other locations to track heat flow or detect hot spots. Surface temperature data is recorded from -40 to 750°C.

At the same time, air temperature is measured via 16 hot wire anemometer ports using ATS single-sensor technology. There is no need to change sensors when measuring different velocity ranges. The standard range for air velocity measurement is 0-6 m/s (1,200 ft/min). For custom calibrations, the available range is from 0 to 50 m/s (10,000 ft/min). The iQ-200 can be used with ATS’ low-profile Candlestick sensors.

Four additional ports on the iQ-200 support differential or absolute pressure transducers to capture air pressure drop data along circuit cards, assemblies and orifice plates. Pressure measurements are taken from 0 to 1,034 Pa (0 to 0.15 psi).

The iQ-200 system comes preloaded with user-friendly IQstage data acquisition software. IQstage manages the incoming data from multiple sensing devices, and provides detailed graphical presentation on monitors and documents. The iQ-200 connects via USB to any conventional PC for convenient data management, storage and sharing.