Free Electronics Kit CD
Showcases the Benefits of Multiphysics Modeling

A unique learning aid includes a movie that shows how to design a model from scratch, eight real-world models from the electronics industry, and the Multiphysics Viewer so engineers can explore the underlying physics and visualize results

BURLINGTON, MA July 1, 2005-An interactive learning aid called "The Electronics Kit CD" introduces engineers to the benefits and straightforward implementation of multiphysics modeling and simulation in the electronics industry using the industry-leading software package, FEMLAB. The CD combines a movie called "Introduction to FEMLAB" along with actual model files that users can open and explore using the included Multiphysics Viewer application. The CD is available free of charge to all interested individuals.

The need for modeling has taken on new importance in the electronics industry. Rapid developments in consumer and industrial electronics make it more important than ever that engineers fully understand design limitations. In particular, they must take full advantage of system components yet not overstress them and possibly induce failure conditions. Achieving this goal requires a deep understanding of the electromagnetic, structural, and heat-transfer characteristics of various active and passive components, including integrated circuits. Often these phenomena are interrelated, so components and systems must undergo a multiphysics analysis if they are to be fully understood as they operate in the real world.

The most accurate way of understanding a design is to build a prototype and take measurements. This procedure, however, can be tedious and expensive, and it is generally wise to undertake such laboratory investigations as late as possible in the design cycle. Thanks to mathematical-modeling software, designers can perform early exploratory analyses and evaluate initial design criteria quickly and at virtually no risk. They can, for example, study the electromagnetic and structural integrity of an individual component, or the general cooling criteria for a circuit board. For this purpose, FEMLAB provides a simulation environment that is very flexible yet easy to use. This general-purpose modeling tool can handle problems in a wide variety of fields.

The Electronics Kit CD supplies eight FEMLAB models, covering devices from discrete transistors to inductors to memory arrays. Each comes with documentation that discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the driving physical phenomenon along with a file that users can load into the included Multiphysics Viewer. With that application, engineers and scientists can explore the underlying equations and physics as well as use flexible postprocessing capabilities to visualize results in the most effective fashion.

The CD also contains a 12-minute "Introduction to FEMLAB" movie (in Windows Media format) that allows viewers to follow along with a modeling session from scratch. The example builds a model that examines a surface-mount circuit, specifically determining the heat effects of a voltage regulator on a nearby IC. The movie reviews all the major phases of the modeling process: geometry creation, defining the physics, generating the mesh, solving the problem, and visualizing/evaluating the results.

About FEMLAB

FEMLAB is an industry-leading scientific-software package for the modeling and simulation of any physics-based system. A particular strength is its ability to simultaneously account for interdependent physics or multiphysics phenomena. Researchers working in dedicated disciplines can also find add-on modules that have special user interfaces and optimized application setups; currently available are the Chemical Engineering, Earth Science, Electromagnetics, Heat Transfer, MEMS and Structural Mechanics Modules. The package is available for the Windows, Linux, Solaris, and the HP-UX operating systems. Full details about FEMLAB and the family of modules are available here.

About COMSOL

COMSOL was founded in 1986 in Stockholm, Sweden, and has grown to include offices in Switzerland, Benelux, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and a US presence with offices in Burlington, MA, Los Angeles, CA, and Palo Alto, CA. Additional information about the company is available here.