Embodiments of the invention relate generally to the field of microelectronic devices and more specifically to methods and apparatuses for removing heat from such devices.
Heat dissipation for wire-bonded microelectronic components typically employs a metal slug disposed over the silicon die (chip).
The heat is removed through a thermal slug 115, which is typically a highly thermally conductive metal such as copper or aluminum. Typically, the thermal slug 115 may be T-shaped to accommodate the wire-bonds 106 as shown. Alternatively, the thermal slug may simply be sized to cover only the inner portion of the chip 105 thereby avoiding the wire-bonds 106. The chip 105 and wire-bonds 106 may then be protected by an encapsulate 120 (typically plastic) applied over the surface of the substrate 110. A heat sink, not shown, may be attached to the thermal slug to increase heat removal capability. Additionally or alternatively, a fan may be directed over the thermal slug.
This heat removal scheme has the disadvantage that the majority of heat removal is taking place from the top of the chip. The top side of the chip may not be the hottest side, depending on where the components are located within the chip. This means the heat is drawn through the upper components of the chip to the thermal slug.
Additional difficulties arise for stacked-chip configurations. Over the past several years there has been some interest in stacking chips where possible. One such chip-stacking scheme stacks a number of decreasing sized chips in order to facilitate the wire-bonds.
Another disadvantage of such schemes is that the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the heat slug (typically a highly thermally conductive metal) and that of the semiconductor chip (e.g., silicon) are different. Such a mismatch in CTE may result in warping the chip during expected temperature changes that occur during normal operation. This necessitates a thermal interface material (TIM) layer (not shown) between the heat slug and the chip. Inclusion of a TIM layer increases the fabrication process steps and because the TIM layer has its own thermal resistance, reduces the heat removal capability of the device.
Currently, typical stacked-chip designs are used for stacking memory chips, which are relatively low wattage. However, as the number of chips in a stacked-chip device increases, it will be more and more difficult to remove the heat from such devices using the configuration illustrated in
Moreover, it may be desirable to stack higher-powered chips (e.g., processors), exclusively or in combination with memory chips. For such designs, the current heat removal schemes will most likely prove inadequate.
The invention may be best understood by referring to the following description and accompanying drawings that are used to illustrate embodiments of the invention. In the drawings:
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the understanding of this description.
Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
Moreover, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.
Silicon has a relatively high thermal conductivity (approximately 1.48 W/cmK), though not nearly as high as aluminum or copper. This high thermal conductivity allows a great deal of heat to be directed from the chip to the substrate. Moreover, positioning the thermal slug on the bottom of the chip allows the slug to be larger in relation to the size of the chip. Recall that in typical prior art schemes the thermal slug had to be reduced in size (at least at the point of interface to the chip) in order to accommodate the wire-bonds. That is, the area of the thermal slug interface to the chip was smaller than the area of the chip. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the thermal slug positioned beneath the chip can be relatively large in relation to the chip. For one embodiment of the invention, the thermal slug is larger than the chip and interfaces to the chip over the entire area of the chip. This larger thermal slug, in conjunction with a greater interface area, allows more heat to be directed from the bottom of the chip to the substrate.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, and as shown in
For one embodiment of the invention, the increased area of the thermal slug and the addition of thermal vias, allows the use of thermal vias across an increased amount of the substrate.
Device 300, shown in
At operation 410, a chip is positioned on the heat spreader. For one embodiment, the chip is made of the same material as the heat spreader and has a substantially smaller area than the heat spreader. For alternative embodiments, a chip stack is positioned on the heat spreader. For such embodiments, the bottommost chip (in contact with the heat spreader) has a CTE approximately the same as the heat spreader.
At operation 415, the chip (chip-stack) is electrically connected to the substrate. For example, in one embodiment, the chip is wire-bonded to the substrate, the wire-bonds extending over the heat spreader.
The various operations of process 400 are exemplary and may be described in their most basic form, but operations can be added to or deleted from process 400 without departing from the basic scope of the invention. For example, a conventional heat slug may be attached to the top-side of the chip (or upper most chip) in a conventional manner to increase the heat removal from the chip or chips-stack.
While the invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but can be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of limiting.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5777385 | Wu | Jul 1998 | A |
5818107 | Pierson et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
5905299 | Lacap | May 1999 | A |
5953589 | Shim et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
6191477 | Hashemi | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6265771 | Ference et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6809416 | Sharma | Oct 2004 | B1 |
20020135065 | Zhao et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
20030057534 | Ho et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
20030146506 | Khan et al. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
20040051170 | Kawakami et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20050285260 A1 | Dec 2005 | US |