Data Sheet

Thermal Considerations—Ethernet Controller I210
843
13.0 Thermal Considerations
This section helps design a thermal solution for systems implementing the I210. It details the
maximum allowable operating junction and case temperatures and provides the methodology
necessary to measure these values. It also outlines the results of thermal simulations of the I210 in a
standard JEDEC test environment with a 2s2p board using various thermal solutions.
13.1 Intended Audience
The intended audience for this section is system design engineers using the I210. System designers are
required to address component and system-level thermal challenges as the market continues to adopt
products with higher speeds and port densities. New designs might be required to provide more
effective cooling solutions for silicon devices depending on the type of system and target operating
environment
13.2 Considerations
In a system environment, the temperature of a component is a function of both the system and
component thermal characteristics. System-level thermal constraints consist of the local ambient
temperature at the component, the airflow over the component and surrounding board, and the
physical constraints at, above, and surrounding the component that might limit the size of a thermal
solution.
The component's case and die temperature are the result of:
• Component power dissipation
•Component size
• Component packaging materials
• Type of interconnection to the substrate and motherboard
• Presence of a thermal cooling solution
• Power density of the substrate, nearby components, and motherboard
All of these parameters are pushed by the continued trend of technology to increase performance levels
(higher operating speeds, MHz) and power density (more transistors). As operating frequencies
increase and package size decreases, the power density increases and the thermal cooling solution
space and airflow become more constrained. The result is an increased emphasis on optimizing system
design to ensure that thermal design requirements are met for each component in the system.