Surface Thermography Liquid Crystals Reveal Hot Spots in Electronic Devices

Nov. 2, 2012 - PRLog -- Now available in the TLC-100 Kit from Advanced Thermal Solutions, Inc., spray-on thermochromic liquid crystals which change color at different temperatures to reveal heat issues. By applying these liquid crystals, engineers can visually find hotspots and temperature fields on chips and other electronic components.

TLC-100 liquid crystals are designed for heat transfer studies and mapping temperature fields on electronic components or boards. The crystals change color at a specified temperature starting at red, changing to green then blue. For electronics cooling applications, this provides the user accurate information about the location of hot spots on a device, their temperature and temperature gradient.

To map the temperature profile of a component or board, black ink is airbrushed on to the specimen. Then TLCs, with a particular temperature range (depending on the application), are sprayed onto the measurement surface. Once the device is turned on, and the components are brought to activation temperature, the liquid crystals will begin turning red, then into different colors, representing the temperature distribution of the component or board.

Thermochromic liquid crystals are available in a variety of temperature ranges from 12°C to 120°C, each one with a particular bandwidth from 1°C to 20°C. Hotspot locations can be confirmed and changing temperatures can be seen at various current output levels. The TLC-100 crystals provided can show thermal patterns, not just at the chip but on the surrounding hardware.

ATS thermal engineers can provide application and interpretation guidance for TLC-100 studies. ATS offers mechanical design to thermally optimize PCBs and enclosures. ATS engineers provide thermal design services for safer, cooler components and packages. ATS also provides electrical design services to help optimize thermal management

Information about the TLC-100 Thermochromic Liquid Crystal kit is on Qats.com (http://www.qats.com/), or contact Len Alter at lalter@qats.com or 1-781-949-2518.