Temperature solutions for high-reliability electronics

5th March 2020

Altus Group

Alex Lynn

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Modern electronics have to be functional even in extreme conditions. Today’s highly complex assemblies must work in all temperatures. Optimum longevity and reliability is imperative, particularly in high-reliability devices used in the medical, automotive and aerospace industries. To help its customers to achieve consistency, Altus Group has added a temperature solution in the form of temperature function test equipment from Rehm Thermal Systems.

The Securo Plus system has been developed for the hot function test and Securo Minus for the cold function test. The systems operate in normal air or in nitrogen atmospheres and can measure the performance of sensitive electronics, for example those used during winter conditions, a required for vehicles. Functional modules are first cooled to temperatures of -45°C. Then to simulate the installation environment the modules are heated to between +80 and +120°C to test for reliability when running in a variety of conditions.

“A huge concern for electronics manufacturers is an assembly’s functionality. The final product has to perform as it was intended,” explained Matthew Jones, Altus’ Sales Director. “This is so important in high-reliability electronics. Producing anything less than 100% reliable is non-negotiable within the medical sector for example, where the outcome of malfunctioning assemblies is a matter of life or death. For this reason it is extremely important to test assemblies and ensure they work well in all conditions. Rehm’s Securo Plus and Minus systems help to do just that.

“The Securo systems are highly compatible with other measuring equipment and so can be implemented with ease into a facility. This allows extensive function monitoring and secure quality control. We can now offer our customers these innovative solutions and have already seen much interest since adding to the equipment portfolio.”

Safe testing and measuring methods are increasingly relevant and have already become standard in analysing the resistance of electronic components. In the aerospace industry, for example, the sun-facing side of a spacecraft can become extremely hot, as in the vacuum of space there is no air for cooling.

However, since the temperature in space is minus 270°C, the spacecraft is simultaneously exposed to extreme cold. Despite this extreme temperature, the technology must be completely reliable. For such fields of application Rehm offers systems that can accurately simulate these extreme environmental conditions by selectively heating and/or cooling the assembly.