High Precision Compact Thermal Models

This paper is a step towards building a more complete theory of compact thermal models, in which their common structure is highlighted and hence the sources of errors inevitably present in any compact model clearly revealed. This approach is further extended in order to propose an original approach to attain any desired level of precision. Different methods already proposed by other authors can all benefit from the approach proposed here in order to raise accuracy level. Traditionally, increasing precision was attained by increasing the number of nodes. This strategy faces many problems, like the difficulty to select node size and position, as well as the inability to provide an a priori estimate of the number of nodes needed. In particular, this strategy fails in the case of multiple heat sources (MCM). The actual approach relies on a “flexible” pattern model that allows us to avoid such problems. Moreover, the new approach gives access to the tangential temperature gradient. This valuable information for designers in order to assess reliability can not be predicted by classical compact model approaches.