Design Guide

Environmental Specifications
A DIVISION OF TRIMBLE
Hardware Overview 39
Environmental Specifications
Thermal Considerations
The module will operate within its stated specifications over a temperature range o f -20
to +60 degrees C, measured at the ground plane that the ThingMagic Nano module is
soldered to.
It may be safely stored in temperatures ranging from -40 degrees C to +85 degrees C.
Thermal Management
Heat-sinking
For high duty cycles, it is essential to use a surface mount configuration where all edge
vias are soldered to a carrier or mother board, with a large area of ground plane, that will
either radiate heat or conduct the heat to a larger heat-sink. A high density of PCB vias
from the top to bottom of the board will efficiently conduct heat to a bottom mount heat-
sink. Often the weak link in thermal management design is not the thermal interface from
the ThingMagic Nano to the heat-sink, but rather the thermal interface from the heat-sink
to the outside world.
Duty Cycle
If overheating occurs it is recommended to first try reducing the duty cycle of operation.
This involves modifying the RF On/Off (API parameter settings /reader/read/
asyncOnTime and asyncOffTime) values. A good place to start is 50% duty cycle using
250ms/250ms On/Off.
If your performance requirements can be met, a low enough duty cycle can result in no
heat sinking required. Or with adequate heat sinking you can run continuously at 100%
duty cycle.
Temperature Sensor
The ThingMagic Nano module has an integrated temperature sensor, located near the
components which generate the most heat. The temperature can be obtained through the
user interface as a status indication. This information is also used by the firmware to
prevent transmission when the module is too hot or too cold to operate properly. The
temperature limits for allowing transmission are -20 C to +85 C.