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7
AFL270XXD Series
A conservative aid to estimating the total heat sink surface
area (A
HEAT SINK
) required to set the maximum case temp-
erature rise (
T) above ambient temperature is given by
the following expression:
A
HEAT SINK
≈
T
P
80
30
.
0 85
.
143
.
where
T
P
P
Eff
OUT
=
=
=
Case temperature rise above ambient
Device dissipation in Watts
1
1
T = 85 - 25 = 60°C
and the required heat sink area is
From the Specification Table, the worst case full load effi-
ciency for this device is 83% @ 100 watts: thus, power
dissipation at full load is given by
Because of the incorporation of many innovative techno-
logical concepts, the AFL series of converters is capable of
providing very high output power from a package of very
small volume. These magnitudes of power density can only
be obtained by combining high circuit efficiency with effec-
tive methods of heat removal from the die junctions. This
requirement has been effectively addressed inside the de-
vice; but when operating at maximum loads, a significant
amount of heat will be generated and this heat must be
conducted away from the case. To maintain the case tem-
perature at or below the specified maximum of 125°C, this
heat must be transferred by conduction to an appropriate
heat dissipater held in intimate contact with the converter
base-plate.
When operating in the shared mode, it is important that
symmetry of connection be maintained as an assurance of
optimum load sharing performance. Thus, converter out-
puts should be connected to the load with equal lengths of
wire of the same gauge and should be connected to a com-
mon physical point, preferably at the load along with the
converter output and return leads. All converters in a par-
alleled set must have their share pins connected together.
This arrangement is diagrammatically illustrated in Figure
III. showing the output and return pins connected at a star
point which is located close as possible to the load.
As a consequence of the topology utilized in the current
sharing circuit, the share pin may be used for other func-
tions. In applications requiring only a single converter, the
voltage appearing on the share pin may be used as a “totall
current monitor”. The share pin open circuit voltage is nomi-
nally +1.00v at no load and increases linearly with increas-
ing total output current to +2.20v at full load. Note that the
current we refer to here is the total output current, that is,
the sum of the positive and negative outout currents.
1Sil-Pad is a registered Trade Mark of Bergquist, Minneapolis, MN
Thermal Considerations
Since the effectiveness of this heat transfer is dependent
on the intimacy of the baseplate/heatsink interface, it is
strongly recommended that a high thermal conductivity heat
transferring medium is inserted between the baseplate and
heatsink. The material most frequently utilized at the fac-
tory during all testing and burn-in processes is sold under
the trade name of Sil-Pad
4001. This particular product is
an insulator but electrically conductive versions are also
available. Use of these materials assures maximum sur-
face contact with the heat dissipater thereby compensating
for any minor surface variations. While other available types
of heat conductive materials and thermal compounds pro-
vide similar effectiveness, these alternatives are often less
convenient and can be somewhat messy to use.
As an example, assume that it is desired to operate an
AFL27015D while holding the case temperature at T
≤
+85°C in an area where the ambient temperature is held to
a constant +25°C; then
(
)
P
=
=
=
100
1
83
.
1
100
0205
.
205
. W
A
=
60
80 20.5
in
HEAT SINK
0.85
=
143
.
2
30
.
563
.
Thus, a total heat sink surface area (including fins, if any) of
56 in2 in this example, would limit case rise to 60°C above
ambient. A flat aluminum plate, 0.25" thick and of approxi-
mate dimension 4" by 7" (28 in2 per side) would suffice for
this application in a still air environment. Note that to meet
the criteria in this example, both sides of the plate require
unrestricted exposure to the +25°C ambient air.