Patent Application
20230317556
Embodiments of the present description generally relate to the field of electronic products, and, more specifically, to the formation of modification structures within a chassis or housing of an electronic product that improves the functionality and/or ergonomics of the electronic product.
The integrated circuit industry is continually striving to produce ever faster, smaller, and thinner integrated circuit devices and packages for use in various electronic products, including, but not limited to, computer servers and portable products, such as portable computers, electronic tablets, cellular phones, digital cameras, and the like. The ever smaller and thinner integrated circuit devices and packages, of course, allow for the fabrication of ever smaller and thinner sized electronic products.
As these goals are achieved, the integrated circuit devices become smaller. Accordingly, the density of power consumption of electronic components within the integrated circuit devices has increased, which, in turn, increases the average junction temperature of the integrated circuit device. If the temperature of the integrated circuit device becomes too high, the integrated circuits may be damaged or destroyed. This issue is exacerbated by the chassis or housings, which at least partially encases the integrated circuit device, becoming smaller, as there is less space to incorporate an effective thermal management solution for the integrated circuit devices within the chassis without effecting ergonomics, esthetics, and/or industrial design of the electronic products. Furthermore, smaller chassis or housings also make it more difficult to incorporate features to enhance the durability or decrease the weight of the electronic products without effecting ergonomics, esthetics, and/or industrial design thereof.
Thus, there is an on-going effort to improve the operation, durability, and efficiency of electronic products, while maintaining the industrial design/esthetics/ergonomics thereof.
The subject matter of the present disclosure is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is understood that the accompanying drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope. The disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, such that the advantages of the present disclosure can be more readily ascertained, in which:
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the claimed subject matter may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the subject matter. It is to be understood that the various embodiments, although different, are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described herein, in connection with one embodiment, may be implemented within other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. References within this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one implementation encompassed within the present description. Therefore, the use of the phrase “one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, it is to be understood that the location or arrangement of individual elements within each disclosed embodiment may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the subject matter is defined only by the appended claims, appropriately interpreted, along with the full range of equivalents to which the appended claims are entitled. In the drawings, like numerals refer to the same or similar elements or functionality throughout the several views, and that elements depicted therein are not necessarily to scale with one another, rather individual elements may be enlarged or reduced in order to more easily comprehend the elements in the context of the present description.
The terms “over”, “to”, “between” and “on” as used herein may refer to a relative position of one layer with respect to other layers. One layer “over” or “on” another layer or bonded “to” another layer may be directly in contact with the other layer or may have one or more intervening layers. One layer “between” layers may be directly in contact with the layers or may have one or more intervening layers.
The term “package” generally refers to a self-contained carrier of one or more dice, where the dice are attached to the package substrate, and may be encapsulated for protection, with integrated or wire-bonded interconnects between the dice and leads, pins or bumps located on the external portions of the package substrate. The package may contain a single die, or multiple dice, providing a specific function. The package is usually mounted on a printed circuit board for interconnection with other packaged integrated circuits and discrete components, forming a larger circuit.
Here, the term “cored” generally refers to a substrate of an integrated circuit package built upon a board, card or wafer comprising a non-flexible stiff material. Typically, a small printed circuit board is used as a core, upon which integrated circuit device and discrete passive components may be soldered. Typically, the core has vias extending from one side to the other, allowing circuitry on one side of the core to be coupled directly to circuitry on the opposite side of the core. The core may also serve as a platform for building up layers of conductors and dielectric materials.
Here, the term “coreless” generally refers to a substrate of an integrated circuit package having no core. The lack of a core allows for higher-density package architectures, as the through-vias have relatively large dimensions and pitch compared to high-density interconnects.
Here, the term “land side”, if used herein, generally refers to the side of the substrate of the integrated circuit package closest to the plane of attachment to a printed circuit board, motherboard, or other package. This is in contrast to the term “die side”, which is the side of the substrate of the integrated circuit package to which the die or dice are attached.
Here, the term “dielectric” generally refers to any number of non-electrically conductive materials that make up the structure of a package substrate. For purposes of this disclosure, dielectric material may be incorporated into an integrated circuit package as layers of laminate film or as a resin molded over integrated circuit dice mounted on the substrate.
Here, the term “metallization” generally refers to metal layers formed over and through the dielectric material of the package substrate. The metal layers are generally patterned to form metal structures such as traces and bond pads. The metallization of a package substrate may be confined to a single layer or in multiple layers separated by layers of dielectric.
Here, the term “bond pad” generally refers to metallization structures that terminate integrated traces and vias in integrated circuit packages and dies. The term “solder pad” may be occasionally substituted for “bond pad” and carries the same meaning.
Here, the term “solder bump” generally refers to a solder layer formed on a bond pad. The solder layer typically has a round shape, hence the term “solder bump”.
Here, the term “substrate” generally refers to a planar platform comprising dielectric and metallization structures. The substrate mechanically supports and electrically couples one or more IC dies on a single platform, with encapsulation of the one or more IC dies by a moldable dielectric material. The substrate generally comprises solder bumps as bonding interconnects on both sides. One side of the substrate, generally referred to as the “die side”, comprises solder bumps for chip or die bonding. The opposite side of the substrate, generally referred to as the “land side”, comprises solder bumps for bonding the package to a printed circuit board.
Here, the term “assembly” generally refers to a grouping of parts into a single functional unit. The parts may be separate and are mechanically assembled into a functional unit, where the parts may be removable. In another instance, the parts may be permanently bonded together. In some instances, the parts are integrated together.
Throughout the specification, and in the claims, the term “connected” means a direct connection, such as electrical, mechanical, or magnetic connection between the things that are connected, without any intermediary devices.
The term “coupled” means a direct or indirect connection, such as a direct electrical, mechanical, magnetic or fluidic connection between the things that are connected or an indirect connection, through one or more passive or active intermediary devices.
The term “circuit” or “module” may refer to one or more passive and/or active components that are arranged to cooperate with one another to provide a desired function. The term “signal” may refer to at least one current signal, voltage signal, magnetic signal, or data/clock signal. The meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references. The meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.”
The vertical orientation is in the z-direction and it is understood that recitations of “top”, “bottom”, “above” and “below” refer to relative positions in the z-dimension with the usual meaning. However, it is understood that embodiments are not necessarily limited to the orientations or configurations illustrated in the figure.
The terms “substantially,” “close,” “approximately,” “near,” and “about,” generally refer to being within +/−10% of a target value (unless specifically specified). Unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects to which are being referred and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner.
For the purposes of the present disclosure, phrases “A and/or B” and “A or B” mean (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).
Views labeled “cross-sectional”, “profile” and “plan” correspond to orthogonal planes within a cartesian coordinate system. Thus, cross-sectional and profile views are taken in the x-z plane, and plan views are taken in the x-y plane. Typically, profile views in the x-z plane are cross-sectional views. Where appropriate, drawings are labeled with axes to indicate the orientation of the figure.
Embodiments of the present description relate to forming modification structures within a chassis of an electronic product to improve its thermal dissipation systems, to lessen its weight, and/or to enhance its durability, while maintaining the industrial design, esthetics, and/or ergonomics thereof. In the various embodiments of the present description, the modification structures within the chassis may comprise a plurality of fused modification material particles. In one embodiment of the present description, the modification structures may extend entirely through the chassis and be sufficiently porous to allow air flow, which in conjunction with a fan may assist in heat dissipation from the electronic product. In another embodiment of the present description, the modification structures may be formed from highly, thermally conductive modification material particles to assist in heat dissipation from the electronic product. In still another embodiment of the present description, the modification structures may be formed from highly, thermally insulative modification material particles to prevent or redirect heat dissipation from specific areas of the electronic product. In yet still another embodiment of the present description, the modification structures may be formed from relatively low weight modification material particles to reduce the weight of the electronic product. In a further embodiment of the present description, the modification structures may be formed from relatively high stiffness or yield strength modification material particles in areas of high mechanical stresses and cycling in the chassis.
The electronic substrate 230 may further include conductive routes 238 (shown in dashed lines) extending through the electronic substrate 230. As will be understood to those skilled in the art, the conductive routes 238 may be a combination of conductive traces (not shown) and conductive vias (not shown) extending through the plurality of dielectric material layers (not shown). These conductive traces and conductive vias are well known in the art and are not shown in
The integrated circuit device 220 may be any appropriate device, including, but not limited to, a microprocessor, a chipset, a graphics device, a wireless device, a memory device, an application specific integrated circuit, combinations thereof, stacks thereof, or the like. As shown, the integrated circuit device 220 may have a frontside surface 222 and an opposing backside surface 224.
In an embodiment of the present description, the integrated circuit device 220 may be electrically attached to the electronic substrate 230 with a plurality of device-to-substrate interconnects 236. In one embodiment of the present description, the device-to-substrate interconnects 236 may extend between bond pads (not shown) on the first surface 232 of the electronic substrate 230 and bond pads (not shown) on the frontside surface 222 of the integrated circuit device 220. The device-to-substrate interconnects 236 may be any appropriate electrically conductive material or structure, including, but not limited to, solder balls, metal bumps or pillars, metal filled epoxies, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the device-to-substrate interconnects 236 may be solder balls formed from tin, lead/tin alloys (for example, 63% tin/37% lead solder), and high tin content alloys (e.g., 90% or more tin—such as tin/bismuth, eutectic tin/silver, ternary tin/silver/copper, eutectic tin/copper, and similar alloys). In another embodiment, the device-to-substrate interconnects 236 may be copper bumps or pillars. In a further embodiment, the device-to-substrate interconnects 236 may be metal bumps or pillars coated with a solder material. In still a further embodiment, the device-to-substrate interconnects 236 may be anisotropic conductive film.
The bond pads (not shown) on the frontside surface 222 may be in electrical communication with integrated circuitry (not shown) within the integrated circuit device 220. The bond pads (not shown) on the first surface 232 of the electronic substrate 230 may be in electrical contact with the conductive routes 238. The conductive routes 238 may extend through the electronic substrate 230 and be connected to bond pads (not shown) on the second surface 234 of the electronic substrate 230. As will be understood to those skilled in the art, the electronic substrate 230 may reroute a fine pitch (center-to-center distance between the bond pads) of the integrated circuit device bond pads (not shown) to a relatively wider pitch of the bond pads (not shown) on the second surface 234 of the electronic substrate 230.
As further shown in
In one embodiment of the present description, the substrate-to-board interconnects 246 may extend between bond pads (not shown) proximate a first surface 242 of the board substrate 240 and bond pads (not shown) proximate the second surface 234 of the electronic substrate 230. Although
In a further embodiment of the present description, as shown in
The heat dissipation device 250 may further include a base plate 256 that may be attached to the at least one heat pipe 252. The base plate 256 may be thermally attached to the at least one integrated circuit device 220 with a thermal interface material (not shown) disposed therebetween. The thermal interface material may include thermal greases, gap pads, polymers, and the like. The base plate 256 is typically made of a high thermal conductivity material, such as copper. As will be understood, the base plate 256 may improve structural rigidity of the heat dissipation device 250 and may assist in spreading heat laterally beyond the footprint of the at least one integrated circuit device 220 to increase the effective area of the hot interface of the at least one heat pipe 252.
As further shown in
As shown in
In the various embodiments of the present description, the modification structure within the chassis 300 may be formed by an additive process, such as high throughput additive manufacturing (“HTAM”). As shown in
In one embodiment of the present description, the modification structures 310a, 310b, 310c, 310d (see
As shown in
Referring back to
In another embodiment of the present description, the modification structures, such as element 310b may be formed from highly, thermally conductive modification material particles to assist in heat dissipation from the electronic product. In one embodiment of the present description, the modification structure 310b may have a thermal conductivity that is greater than a thermal conductivity of the chassis 300. In an embodiment of the present description, the modification structure 310b may be positioned proximate the heat dissipation device 250 (shown as being adjacent the external heat sink 254). In another embodiment of the present description, the modification structure 310b may include, but is not limited to, copper, aluminum, nickel, carbon (such as diamond and graphite), silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, combinations thereof, combinations with other materials, and the like.
In still another embodiment of the present description, the modification structure 310c may be formed from highly, thermally insulative modification material particles to prevent or redirect heat dissipation from the chassis 330. This will allow for the thermal decoupling of the heat sources, such as the integrated circuit device 220 from the areas of ergonomic concern, without adding significant overhead to the fabrication of the chassis 300 or compromising the aesthetics of the chassis 300. In one embodiment of the present description, since air is a poor conductor of heat, a modification structure 310c may be highly porous. In another embodiment of the present description, the modification structure 310c may be a low-thermal conductive material, such as plastic material(s), including, but not limited to, polyethylene terephthalate, polytetrafluoroethylene, and the like. Thus, in one embodiment, the modification structure 310c may have a lower thermal conductivity than a thermal conductivity of the chassis 300.
In yet still another embodiment of the present description, the modification structures 310d may be formed from relatively low weight material to reduce the weight of the chassis 300. In one embodiment of the present description, the modification structure 310d may have a density that is lower than a density of the chassis 300. This may be achieved through forming the modification structure 310d with a material that has a lower density than a density of the chassis 300, with a material that is more porous than the material of the chassis 300, or both.
In a further embodiment of the present description, the modification structures 310a, 310b, 310c, and/or 310d may be formed from relatively high stiffness or yield strength material in areas of high mechanical stresses and cycling in the chassis 300. In one embodiment of the present description, a yield strength of the modification structure(s) 310a, 310b, 310c, and/or 310d may be greater than a yield strength of the chassis 300.
The communication chip enables wireless communications for the transfer of data to and from the computing device. The term “wireless” and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc., that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. The term does not imply that the associated devices do not contain any wires, although in some embodiments they might not. The communication chip may implement any of a number of wireless standards or protocols, including but not limited to Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 family), WiMAX (IEEE 802.16 family), IEEE 802.20, long term evolution (LTE), Ev-DO, HSPA+, HSDPA+, HSUPA+, EDGE, GSM, GPRS, CDMA, TDMA, DECT, Bluetooth, derivatives thereof, as well as any other wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. The computing device may include a plurality of communication chips. For instance, a first communication chip may be dedicated to shorter range wireless communications such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and a second communication chip may be dedicated to longer range wireless communications such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, Ev-DO, and others.
The term “processor” may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that may be stored in registers and/or memory.
In one embodiment, the computing device 500 may include a housing or chassis 501 that includes at least one modification structure therein to improve the thermal dissipation systems of the computing device 500, to lessen the weight of the computing device 500, and/or enhance the durability of the computing device 500, while maintaining the industrial design/esthetics/ergonomics thereof, wherein the modification structure may comprise a plurality of fused modification material particles.
In various implementations, the computing device may be a laptop, a netbook, a notebook, an ultrabook, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an ultra-mobile PC, a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a server, a printer, a scanner, a monitor, a set-top box, an entertainment control unit, a digital camera, a portable music player, or a digital video recorder. In further implementations, the computing device may be any other electronic device that processes data.
It is understood that the subject matter of the present description is not necessarily limited to specific applications illustrated in
The following examples pertain to further embodiments and specifics in the examples may be used anywhere in one or more embodiments, wherein Example 1 is an apparatus, comprising a chassis, wherein the chassis includes at least one recess and a modification structure disposed within the at least one recess, wherein the modification structure comprises a plurality of fused modification material particles.
In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally include the modification structure having a higher thermal conductivity than a thermal conductivity of the chassis.
In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally include the modification structure having a lower thermal conductivity than a thermal conductivity of the chassis.
In Example 4, the subject matter of any of Examples 1 to 3 can optionally include the modification structure having a lower density than a density of the chassis.
In Example 5, the subject matter of any of Examples 1 to 4 can optionally include the modification structure having a higher yield strength than a yield strength of the chassis.
In Example 6, the subject matter of any of Examples 1 to 5 can optionally include the chassis including a first surface and an opposing second surface, and wherein the at least one recess extends into the chassis from one of the first surface and the second surface of the chassis.
In Example 7, the subject matter of any of Examples 1 to 5 can optionally include the chassis including a first surface and an opposing second surface, and wherein the at least one recess extends through the chassis from the first surface and the second surface of the chassis.
In Example 8, the subject matter of Example 7 can optionally include the modification structure being sufficiently porous to allow air flow therethrough.
In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 8 can optionally include a fan adjacent the modification structure.
Example 10 is an apparatus, comprising an integrated circuit assembly; and a chassis at least partially encasing the integrated circuit assembly, wherein the chassis includes at least one recess; and a modification structure disposed within the at least one recess, wherein the modification structure comprises a plurality of fused modification material particles.
In Example 11, the subject matter of Example 10 can optionally include the modification structure having a higher thermal conductivity than a thermal conductivity of the chassis.
In Example 12, the subject matter of Example 10 can optionally include the modification structure having a lower thermal conductivity than a thermal conductivity of the chassis.
In Example 13, the subject matter of any of Examples 10 to 12 can optionally include the modification structure having a lower density than a density of the chassis.
In Example 14, the subject matter of any of Examples 10 to 13 can optionally include the modification structure having a higher yield strength than a yield strength of the chassis.
In Example 15, the subject matter of any of Examples 10 to 14 can optionally include the chassis including a first surface and an opposing second surface, and wherein the at least one recess extends into the chassis from one of the first surface and the second surface of the chassis.
In Example 16, the subject matter of any of Examples 10 to 14 can optionally include the chassis including a first surface and an opposing second surface, and wherein the at least one recess extends through the chassis from the first surface and the second surface of the chassis.
In Example 17, the subject matter of Example 16 can optionally include the modification structure being sufficiently porous to allow air flow therethrough.
In Example 18, the subject matter of Example 17 can optionally include a fan adjacent the modification structure.
Example 19 is a system, comprising a board substrate; an integrated circuit assembly electrically attached to the board substrate; and a chassis at least partially encasing the integrated circuit assembly, wherein the chassis includes at least one recess; and a modification structure disposed within the at least one recess, wherein the modification structure comprises a plurality of fused modification material particles.
In Example 20, the subject matter of Example 19 can optionally include the modification structure having a higher thermal conductivity than a thermal conductivity of the chassis.
In Example 21, the subject matter of Example 19 can optionally include the modification structure having a lower thermal conductivity than a thermal conductivity of the chassis.
In Example 22, the subject matter of any of Examples 19 to 21 can optionally include the modification structure having a lower density than a density of the chassis.
In Example 23, the subject matter of any of Examples 19 to 22 can optionally include the modification structure having a higher yield strength than a yield strength of the chassis.
In Example 24, the subject matter of any of Examples 19 to 23 can optionally include the chassis including a first surface and an opposing second surface, and wherein the at least one recess extends into the chassis from one of the first surface and the second surface of the chassis.
In Example 25, the subject matter of any of Examples 19 to 23 can optionally include the chassis including a first surface and an opposing second surface, and wherein the at least one recess extends through the chassis from the first surface and the second surface of the chassis.
In Example 26, the subject matter of Example 25 can optionally include the modification structure being sufficiently porous to allow air flow therethrough.
In Example 27, the subject matter of Example 26 can optionally include a fan adjacent the modification structure.
Having thus described in detail embodiments of the present invention, it is understood that the invention defined by the appended claims is not to be limited by particular details set forth in the above description, as many apparent variations thereof are possible without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.
