1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to the packaging of integrated circuit dies, and more particularly to methods and related devices that provide for the liquid cooling of stacked dies.
2. Description of the Related Art
Signal latency between integrated circuits (ICs) is a major roadblock to increasing processing speeds. This, combined with the desire for miniaturization, is leading the drive for three dimensional (3D) stacking of IC dies. One major roadblock to 3D stacking, however, is thermal management for the ICs. Reduction of heat generation in ICs has not kept pace with size reductions for fabrication process generations. Consequently, heat fluxes in ICs are increasing with each generation and heat removal becomes increasingly important.
Given the problems associated with heat dissipation and removal in 3D die stacks, such packaging arrangements of dies have been limited to low power components, such as memory chips. Only recently has die stacking begun to be used in other applications, and in such cases liquid cooling is required. For single chip packages liquid cooling usually takes the form of separate cold plates with liquid channels. These cold plates abut the stacked dies and remove heat by way of conduction. However, cold plates introduce added complexity into the chip packaging process and increase the size of the final package.
In one aspect a liquid cooled package for an integrated circuit die is disclosed. The package includes at least two circuit boards coupled together, in which at least one of the two circuit boards is dimensionally formed to form a first cavity. An integrated circuit die is disposed within the first cavity and is mounted on the circuit board. A plurality of first fluidic pathways are connected to the first cavity and configured for connecting to an external fluid source. In preferred embodiments the circuit boards are flex circuit boards that are laminated together and the fluidic pathways are provided by fluidic tubes that are sandwiched between the flex circuit boards. In some embodiments the first cavity comprises at least two integrated circuit dies that are mounted on respective circuit boards and abut each other within the cavity. In such embodiments it is preferred that back surfaces of the integrated circuit dies include grooves, and the abutting back surfaces form a stacked-die configuration with internal microchannels. The microchannels are preferably aligned with the first fluidic pathways.
In a specific embodiment electrical vias pass through one or both of the two circuit boards. Another dimensionally formed circuit board is coupled to the two circuit boards to form a second cavity, with at least another integrated circuit die disposed within the second cavity, and a plurality of second fluidic pathways are fluidically connected to the second cavity and configured for connecting to the external fluid source. The electrical via is aligned with, and electrically coupled to, a corresponding electrical via in the other dimensionally formed circuit board. In some embodiments, the other dimensionally formed circuit board is electrically and mechanically coupled to one of the two circuit boards using an electrically conductive adhesive.
In another aspect a packaging method for an integrated circuit is disclosed, in which at least two flex circuit boards are laminated together. At least one of the two flex circuit boards is a dimensionally formed circuit board so that a cavity with fluidic pathways is created when laminated to the other flex circuit board. An integrated circuit die is mounted on one of the flex circuit boards at a position such that it is disposed within the cavity. In some embodiments the method further includes forming a depression in a flex circuit board substrate to provide the dimensionally formed circuit board. In various embodiments fluidic tubes are interposed between the flex circuit boards prior to lamination so as to form the fluidic pathways. In a specific embodiment a respective integrated circuit die is mounted to each of the flex circuit boards and disposed within the cavity such that back surfaces of the integrated circuit dies abut each other within the cavity to form a stacked-die configuration. Preferably the back surfaces comprise grooves to form microchannels within the stacked-die configuration. In other embodiments the method further includes disposing an electrically conductive adhesive on at least one of the two flex circuit boards and then using the electrically conductive adhesive to mechanically and electrically couple to another flex circuit board.
Embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawing figures, in which like numerals represent like items throughout the figures, and in which:
The invention is described with reference to the attached figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and they are provided merely to illustrate the instant invention. Several aspects of the invention are described below with reference to example applications for illustration. It should be understood that numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide a full understanding of the invention. One having ordinary skill in the relevant art, however, will readily recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details or with other methods. In other instances, well-known structures or operation are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring the invention. The invention is not limited by the illustrated ordering of acts or events, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts or events are required to implement a methodology in accordance with the invention.
The flex circuit boards 10 are configured so that when they are brought together a hermetic or near-hermetic cavity 19 can be formed for each pair of stacked dies 20. These cavities 19 can be provided by any suitable manufacturing process, such as by heating, molding, pressing or the like of the flex circuit boards 10. Vias 12 can also pass through each circuit board 10, and optionally be aligned with each other, so as to provide conductive pathways from one surface of a flex circuit board 10, such as a top surface, to another surface of a flex circuit board 10, such as a bottom surface, or to another circuit board 10 altogether. Because of the thin nature of the flex circuit board 10, such vias 12 can be very short and thus ensure a minimum of signal latency in the package 100. Additional supporting electrical components can also be mounted within the cavities 19. For example, coupling capacitors 30 and bonding wires (not shown) may be disposed within the cavities 19 and electrically and mechanically connected to a corresponding flex circuit board 10.
As indicated above, each flex circuit board 10 with its associated bare die(s) 20 is brought together with another flex circuit board 10 and its associated die(s) 20 to form a paired configuration 40, in which the adjacent back surfaces 29 of the dies 20 are paired together with their grooves 22 aligned to form a bare, stacked-die configuration with internal microchannels 23. As shown in
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, fluid 34 circulating through the cavity 19 will absorb heat from the die(s) 20. In order to remove such heat from the fluid, a heat exchanger 7 is provided. The heat exchanger transfers heat from the fluid 34 to the surrounding environment. Heat exchangers are well known in the art and therefore will not be described here in detail. However, it should be understood that any suitable heat exchanger can be used for this purpose, provided that it is capable of transferring heat from the fluid 34 to the surrounding environment.
The embodiment shown in
In an embodiment of the invention, the circuit boards 10 are made from LCP, which can be thermoformed around fluidic tubes 32 to ensure hermetic seals. However, any suitable sealing process or mechanism may be used to ensure fluid seals between the circuit boards 10, fluidic tubes 32 and fluidic pathways 33, as well as between the circuit boards 10 themselves. It is preferred that the directional arrangement of the microchannels 23 be parallel, or substantially parallel, to the flow of the fluid 34, and hence parallel to the directional arrangement of the fluidic pathways 33. Fluid 34 flowing through the cavity 19 thus also flows through the microchannels 23. The top surfaces 21 of the dies 20 are cooled by fluid 34 flowing within the cavity 19 between the dies 20 and the sidewall of the cavity 19, and the stacked die configuration is internally cooled by the flow of fluid 34 through the microchannels 23.
Each paired configuration 40 may itself serve as an embodiment liquid-cooled chip package with a stacked-die configuration. However, as shown in
Please refer to
By way of example, an unformed LCP sheet 210 is engaged with the mold 200, setting the alignment pins 208 through the holes 212 of the sheet 210. Additionally, a fluidic tube 32 or a suitable facsimile thereof is placed in the recess 206, protruding above the planar surface 202. The sheet 210 covers the protruding surface 204, and at least a portion of the tube 32 and the planar surface 202. The LCP sheet 210 can then be thermoformed into the desired shape using heat and pressure as known in the art, such as at 210-220° C. and 14.7 psig. When removed from the mold 200 a dimensionally formed circuit board 10 is provided. The LCP sheets are preferably fully fabricated with traces and vias prior to molding using conventional processes for substrate fabrication.
With further reference to
Variations on the above are certainly possible. For example, as shown in
When constructing the configurations 40, 50, 60, the thermoforming of the layers, such as the circuit boards 10, 51 and the fluidic tubes 32, can leave gaps, particularly around the fluidic tubes 32. Consequently, in some embodiments it is desirable to use a sealant to fill such gaps. In an embodiment of the invention, the sealant can be an adhesive capable of forming a near hermetic seal. For example, an epoxy such as Epo-Tek (R) H74 can be used to seal around the tubes. The sealant can be applied around the tubes where they emerge from the circuit board substrate as the last step in the assembly process. A mild vacuum can be applied to the tubes to draw the sealant into any gaps. Alternatively, suitable temperature and pressure can be used during the lamination process so that the bond ply used to adhere the substrate layers together flows into the spaces around the tubes.
The invention has generally been described above in connection with bare IC dies, which do not have any packaging associated with them. However, the commercial industry might be more likely to use chip scale packaged (CSP) components instead of bare die ICs. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, CSP is a common industry term for packages that are no more than about 10% larger than the component being packaged. A single CSP can be arranged in a configuration similar to that described above with respect to
The TES 500 has one or more fluid microchannels 523 which traverse the length of the TES and facilitate a flow of fluid therethrough. The direction of these fluid microchannels is advantageously aligned with the direction of fluid flow from one end of cavity 419 to an opposing end of cavity 419. Fluidic tubes 432 are disposed between the flex circuit boards 410. The fluidic tubes 432 provide fluidic pathways 433 that fluidically couple a cavity 419 (formed when the circuit boards 410 are joined together) with an external fluid source 5 (not shown in
While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the invention should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
Although the invention has been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and/or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.