Heat spreaders are used to effectively dissipate large quantities of heat generated by high-power devices. In most applications, these heat spreaders (e.g., metal plates) are electrically floating, which generally enables the heat spreader to do its job of heat dissipation. However, when heat spreaders are implemented for devices sending and receiving data at high speeds, the floating metal starts to impact the electrical performance of the device. In particular, the conductors on the device may capacitively couple to the floating heat spreader, which can become an effective radiator of energy, causing electromagnetic interference to other circuitry on the system.
To prevent this, the device carrier can be designed so that the heat spreader is electrically connected to the system ground. By utilizing such means, any charges coupling to the metal plate, i.e. the heat spreader, are effectively shunted to ground, thereby inhibiting the potential for electromagnetic interference. Unfortunately, previous attempts to test the device to ensure that the heat spreader is properly grounded have been very difficult, inefficient, costly and/or time consuming.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds