Flexibility

The BETAsoft-Board software is very flexible, and can accomodate various types of boards in most electronics industries. Multi-layer boards of irregular shapes and sizes, as shown in the figure, are all handled in BETAsoft.

Library

Two libraries are provided in BETAsoft-Board to store component information. The Working Library is created by the ECAD interface, and contains the components on your design board. The Master Library contains 2500 fully defined component, and allows for unlimited expansion. Components can be saved into the Master Library from the Working Library as you build a complete company database.

Component Powers

Component Powers can be viewed graphically through our view component power screen. The scale at the left assigns the different powers to a color.

Board and Environment

Board properties and environment setup are critical parts of thermal analysis. Heat sinks, conduction pads, and thermal screws can be modeled with ease. BETAsoft allows for forced convection analysis, or for sealed enclosures with varying pressure and gravity. Space and ground based electronics are both modeled effectively.

Component Temperatures

The most important goal of thermal design is to obtain the component casing and junction temperatures. BETAsoft-Board calculates the average case temperature of each component, along with the junction temperatures when THETAJC is provided. Color displays of the component casing and junction temperatures provide a quick view of the hot components. The values are also tabulated in the numerical output.

Excess Temperature

The failure rates of components are exponentially proportional to the junction temperatures and dependent on the I.C. technology. Therefore, different types of components have different limiting temperatures. BETAsoft-Board allows the user to input these limiting temperatures, and provides an output screen to monitor the deviations from the specified limits.

Board Temperature Map

The temperature map predicted by BETAsoft reveals the heat conduction phenomena in the board. Since the thermal expansion is proportional to the temperature, the high temperature regions may bulge or warp during operation. This may cause the pins of surface mount devices to detach. BETAsoft-Board identifies the hot spots on the board during the design stage.

Temperature Gradient

A color map of temperature gradients across the board is also provided as output. A severe temperature gradient usually induces high thermal stress due to the significant differential in thermal expansion. High thermal stress areas are also locations where board cracking or warping is most likely to occur. BETAsoft alerts you to potential trouble spots on your board.