Foreword contributions from thermal challenges in next generation electronic systems (THERMES)

Abstract

S ELECTRONIC products become faster and incorporate greater functionality, they are also shrinking in size and weight, with continuing pressures for cost reduction. Thermal issues are key in electronic product development at all levels of the electronic product hierarchy, from the chip to the ultimate system. Shrinking system sizes are resulting in increasing volumetric heat generation rates and surface heat fluxes in many products. This has resulted in a significant interest in ultra-compact thermal management devices with high heat removal capabilities. Additional thermal management challenges arise as more and more electronic systems are employed in harsh environments, subject to large variations in ambient temperatures and external thermal loads. A synergistic activity is thermal characterization through computations. High-fidelity modeling schemes are being sought, as product development cycles shrink to a period of months in many portable products. The United Engineering Foundation Workshop “Thermal Challenges in Next Generation Electronic Systems (THERMES),” was held in Santa Fe, NM, January 13‐16, 2002, with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation. The focus was on recent advances in thermal management and characterization schemes, as well as forecasts and analyzes of future trends. Three keynote lectures and nine invited talks in selected emerging areas from leading experts in industry and academia were complemented with contributed papers organized into nine technical sessions. Five panel discussions