Liquid Crystal Thermography System Measures PCB and Component Temperatures

Advanced Thermal Solutions, Inc. (ATS) has released a new liquid crystal thermographic analysis system, ethermVIEW™, for precise, optical temperature measurements of active PCBs and components.

The new ethermVIEW™ liquid crystal thermographic analysis system provides precise, optical temperature measurements of active PCBs and components. The ethermVIEW system uses the color response of thermochromic liquid crystals (TLC) for convenient, non-invasive thermal management studies.

Designed and manufactured by Advanced Thermal Solutions, Inc., the ethermVIEW system includes a high performance, solid-state color camera for macroscopic inspection of boards and components treated with heat-sensitive TLC materials.

The high end camera in the ethermVIEW system features a flicker-free white light source that provides clear viewing of dark surfaces and partially concealed elements. The camera connects to a PC by Firewire, the standard connection for high definition video devices. For image processing and management on the PC, the system uses thermSOFT, a proprietary software program included in other thermal analysis devices manufactured by ATS. The ethermVIEW system is provided with a transformer for international use.

In contrast to infrared thermography systems, the ethermVIEW TLC method is not affected by ambient temperatures and provides more precise temperature measurements - within +/- 0.1°C accuracy. The ethermVIEW system can also be purchased for less than a third the cost of a typical IR thermography system.

Liquid crystals used with ethermVIEW studies reflect incident light at visible wave lengths based on the temperature of the surface to which they're applied. ethermVIEW captures the reactive TLC colors to reveal hot spots and defects, and to develop and verify more effective thermal management solutions.

ATS provides a choice of TLC-100 liquid crystals formulated to respond visually to specific temperatures. TLC-100 crystals are specifically designed for heat transfer studies and mapping heat fields on electronic boards and components. 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, along with their temperature and temperature gradient. When the ethermVIEW system is properly calibrated, any standard thermochromic liquid crystal material can be used for thermal studies. ATS provides four calibrations at no cost during the first year of ownership of an ethermVIEW system.

Starting price for the ethermVIEW thermographic analysis system is $15,000 depending on configuration and volume of liquid crystals provided.

More information appears here and on Qats.com, or by calling ATS 1-781-769-2800.