MSC CXB-6S, CXB-6SI, C6B-7S
Rev. 1.2
Heat sink mounting instructions
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1 Introduction
This document is designed to give the customer a better understanding of important considerations, when
using MSC heat sinks on the MSC CXB-6S module. Below you will find important guidelines that must be
followed to ensure that the heat sink is properly mounted.
1.1
General Information
Modern computers use very dense chip architectures that create a lot of heat in a relatively small area. To
make sure that the parts are used within their specifications, it is necessary to provide a method to
conduct the thermal energy away from the sensitive semiconductor dies. For this purpose MSC offers
different cooling solutions, a heat spreader and a heat sink.
2 Mounting Instructions
Photo 1 shows the heat sink from top and bottom side as delivered in a blister packaging.
The two frames show the thermal contact locations of the heat sink. According to the amount of heat that
has to be transferred, different materials have to be chosen to achieve optimal thermal contact. The grey
pads consist of a phase change material that melts the first time it is heated. Due to the mechanical
pressure between die and heat sink, the residual material is pressed out of the gap; thus leaving behind
only a very thin film with a very good thermal performance. Since these pads are printed on the
aluminium, they are very soft and sensitive to scratches
. If you happen to damage the surface of the
pad, use a clean knife or something similar and try to form it so that the die surfaces are
completely covered.
The blue pad under the smaller ALU block is designed not only to conduct the heat but also to
compensate for mechanical tolerances between chipset and heat sink.
Photo 1:
Heat sink top and bottom side
