4.3 Thermal Solution
The Colibri modules are designed to be used without an additional heat spreader or heat sink.
Most of the Colibri modules feature a thermal throttling mechanism. The module measures the
current temperature of the SoC. If it reaches a critical limit, it starts throttling down the CPU speed
or shuts the system entirely down to prevent damages. Please read the corresponding datasheets
for more information on thermal behavior.
• If you only use the peak performance for a short time, heat dissipation is less of a problem
because most of the modules reduce the power consumption when full performance is not
required.
• A lower die temperature also lowers the power consumption due to smaller leakage
currents.
• If you need the full CPU/Graphics performance over a long time, make sure that you can
dissipate sufficient thermal energy to the environment.
In general, the more effectively the generated thermal energy is transported to the environment,
the better performance you get out of the computer module. Therefore, it might be necessary to
add a thermal solution. The best solution is to glue a suitable heat sink directly to the top of the
SoC. Since the module PCB is only 1mm thick, the board is not very stiff. Applying force to the SoC
can bend PCB, which destroys the module. Therefore, pay attention when mounting a thermal
solution on the module that the module is not cracked due to bending stress.
4.4 Module Size
Figure 61: Module Dimensions Top Side (dimensions in mm)
To Next Page
Loading...