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MOSFET heat sink calculation: I am designing H bridge to drive brushed DC motor . The MOSFET I'm using is IRFB4620PbF. I calculated the MOSFET losses which are 7.8W per MOSFET. I'm not sure if I am doing the calculations correctly for heat sink selection.

Tj = Pd (RthJC + RthCS + RthSA) + Tamb

Tj junction temperature : 150C Pd = dissipated power (RMS current through the part x voltage drop) + switching losses = 7.8W
RthJC = thermal resistance, junction to case (from the device data sheet) = 1.045C/W RthCS = thermal resistance, case to heat sink (from the device data sheet) = 0.5C/W RthSA = thermal resistance of the heatsink to air.

Tamb = ambient temperature immediately adjacent to the module in your application = 25C

Susbstituting the above values I get the RthSA as 14.48C/W.

Could you please let me know if the calculations are correct or am I missing something. Thank you for your help.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Looks about right but add some safety margin. (Tamb is over 25C here today!) Having worked out 14C/W I would be looking for heatsinks 10C/W or even 5C/W or better if they meet your space, weight and cost budgets. It can be a cheap way to improve reliability and equipment life. \$\endgroup\$
    – user16324
    Jul 2, 2014 at 12:02
  • \$\begingroup\$ @BrianDrummond 25C would be considered pleasantly cool where I live: It's around 36C here today :-) \$\endgroup\$
    – Anindo Ghosh
    Aug 1, 2014 at 15:35
  • \$\begingroup\$ I might interject that all bets are off if the heatsink isn't exposed to free-flowing air - if it's surrounded by obstructions, it's not going to sink heat at all well. \$\endgroup\$
    – TDHofstetter
    Aug 31, 2014 at 16:08

1 Answer 1

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Assuming your heat loss calculations are correct, this is right (don't forget that Rds(on) increases greatly at high junction temperatures).

However, Tj=150°C is pretty hot, and it's unrealistic to use 25°C as the maximum ambient near the heatsink in most applications. It does mean the MOSFET will not be immediately destroyed at ambient temperatures up to 50°C. It does not mean that it will be very reliable.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm very new to electrical engineering. Could you please let me know the typical values of Tj and Tamb. \$\endgroup\$
    – user46642
    Jul 2, 2014 at 13:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ @user46642 One rule of thumb is that lifetime halves for every 10°C rise. You should not allow the TJ to get close to the absolute maximum. One indication is where the part is specified (125°C = Tj). Tamb depends on your application and environment. If it gets to 40°C in the room and the enclosure adds another 10°C then 50-60°C Ta is not unreasonable, more range is required for many applications. There's not really a hard and fast rule, but I don't like to see heat sinks running at more than 100°C. \$\endgroup\$
    – Spehro Pefhany
    Jul 2, 2014 at 14:01

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