The field of invention relates generally to cooling electronic apparatus' and systems and, more specifically but not exclusively relates to microchannel cooling technology.
Components in computer systems are operating at higher and higher frequencies, using smaller die sizes and more densely packed circuitry. As a result, these components, especially microprocessors, generate large amounts of heat, which must be removed from the system's chassis so that the components do not overheat. In conventional computer systems, this is accomplished via forced air convection, which transfers heat from the circuit components by using one or more fans that are disposed within or coupled to the chassis to draw air over the components through the chassis. To further aid the heat removal process, heat sinks are often mounted to various high-power circuit components to enhance natural and forced convection heat transfer processes. Heat sinks comprising of an array of fins having a height of approximately 1-2 inches are commonly used to cool microprocessors in desktop systems, workstations, and pedestal-mounted servers. The heat sinks provide significantly greater surface areas than the components upon which they are mounted.
For example, a typical processor cooling solution that employs a heatsink is shown in FIG. 1. The cooling solution is designed to cool a processor die 100, which is flip-bonded to a substrate 102 via a plurality of solder bumps 104. Typically, an epoxy underfill 106 is employed to strengthen the interface between die 100 and substrate 102. Substrate 102, in turn, is mounted to a chip carrier 108 via a plurality of solder balls 110. The upper side of the die is thermally coupled to a copper heat spreader 112 via a first layer of thermal interface material (TIM) 114. Similarly, a heat sink 118 is thermally coupled to the copper heat spreader via a second layer of TIM 118.
During operation, the processor die generates heat due to resistive losses in its circuitry. This heats up the processor. Since heat flows high temperature sources to lower temperature sinks, heat is caused to flow through TIM layer 114 to copper spreader 112. In turn, heat from the spreader flows through TIM layer 118 to heat sink 116. The heat sink, in turn, is cooled by air that flows over the heat sink's fins 120, either via natural convection or forced convection. Generally, the rate of cooling is a function of the fin area and the velocity of the air convection.
Thermal solutions are even more difficult for smaller processor-based devices, such as laptop computers and the like. In this instance, the amount of space available for heat sinks and heat spreaders is minimal, thereby causing the heat transfer capacity to be significantly reduced. The power available to drive fans is also significantly reduced. Even with the use of lower-power dies, the reduced heat transfer capacity often leads to the processors running derated speeds via self-regulation in response to over temp conditions.
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified:
a is a schematic diagram of a closed loop cooling system employing a microchannel heat exchanger;
b is a cross-section view of a conventional microchannel heat exchanger that may be employed in the closed loop cooling system of
a is a cross-section view of a microchannel heat exchanger that is integrated with an integrated circuit (IC) die in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, wherein a thermal mass including a plurality of open microchannels is coupled to the IC die using a solder and the bottom surfaces of the microchannels comprise the solder material;
b is a cross-section view of a microchannel heat exchanger that is integrated with an IC die in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, wherein a thermal mass including a plurality of open microchannels is coupled to the IC die using a solder and the bottom surfaces of the microchannels comprise a solderable material;
c is a cross-section view of a microchannel heat exchanger that is integrated with an IC die in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, wherein a thermal mass including a plurality of open microchannels is coupled to the IC die using a thermal adhesive;
d is a cross-section view of a exemplary IC package in which the components of
a is cross-section view of a microchannel heat exchanger that is coupled to an IC die via a thermal interface material layer in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, wherein the microchannel heat exchanger includes a thermal mass having a plurality of open microchannel covered by a plate;
b is a cross-section view of a microchannel heat exchanger that is coupled to an IC die via a thermal interface material layer in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, wherein the microchannel heat exchanger comprises a single-piece thermal mass in which a plurality of microchannels are formed;
c is a cross-section view of a exemplary IC package in which the components of
a is a cross-section view of an IC package in which dual microchannel heat exchangers are employed, wherein the upper portion of the package includes a first integrated heat exchanger corresponding to one of the configurations shown in
b is a cross-section view of a variation of the embodiment of
a is a cross-section view of an IC package in which dual microchannel heat exchangers are employed, wherein the upper portion of the package includes a first heat exchanger corresponding to one of the configurations shown in
b is a cross-section view of a variation of the embodiment of
a is a cross-section view of an IC package in which dual microchannel heat exchangers are employed, wherein the upper portion of the package includes a first heat exchanger corresponding to one of the configurations shown in
b is a cross-section view of an IC package in which dual microchannel heat exchangers are employed, wherein the upper portion of the package includes a first heat exchanger corresponding to one of the configurations shown in
a is a plan view of a microchannel heat exchanger including parameters that define the configuration of the heat exchanger;
b is a cross section view illustrating further details of the channel configuration parameters of
a and 9b are external and partial cut-away isometric views of a channeled heat sink in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
c, 9d, and 9e show respective heat sink channel configurations corresponding to the channeled heat sink of
Embodiments of microchannel heat exchanger apparatus, channeled heat sinks and cooling systems employing the same are described herein. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.
Reference throughout this 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 appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this 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.
Recently, research efforts have been focused on providing thermal solutions for densely-packaged high-power electronics. A leading candidate emerging from this research is the use of two-phase convection in micromachined silicon heat sinks, commonly referred to as microchannels. A typical configuration for a microchannel-based cooling system is shown in
In accordance with typical configurations, microchannel heat exchanger 200 will comprise a plurality of microchannels 206 formed in a block of silicon 208, as shown in
As the die circuitry generates heat, the heat is transferred outward to the microchannel heat exchanger via conduction. The heat increases the temperature of the silicon, thereby heating the temperature of the walls in the microchannels. Liquid is pushed by pump 204 into an inlet port 214, where it enters the inlet ends of microchannels 206. As the liquid passes through the microchannels, further heat transfer takes place between the microchannel walls and the liquid. Under a properly configured heat exchanger, a portion of the fluid exits the microchannels as vapor at outlet port 216. The vapor then enters heat rejecter 202. The heat rejecter comprises a second heat exchanger that performs the reverse phase transformation as microchannel heat exchanger 200—that is, it converts the phase of the vapor entering at an inlet end back to a liquid at the outlet of the heat rejecter. The liquid is then received at an inlet side of pump 204, thus completing the cooling cycle.
A significant advantage of the foregoing scheme is that is moves the heat rejection from the processor/die, which is typically somewhat centrally located within the chassis, to the location of the heat rejecter heat exchanger, which can be located anywhere within the chassis, or even externally. Thus, excellent heat transfer rates can be obtained without the need for large heatsinks/spreaders and high airflow rates.
However, there are a number of practical problems in the fabrication of microchannels in the silicon block or the silicon die itself. These problems include: bulk machining of brittle silicon might break the silicon; post silicon micromachining may impact IC yields; conventional etching can be used to make the channels, but the etching time required would be extensive; microchannels formed in silicon may reduce the mechanical strength of the silicon or die; IC fabrication processes are well-defined, with corresponding manufacturing infrastructure—introducing one or more extra fabrication processes could disrupt process flows and productivity; and formation of microchannels may lead to contamination or breaking of the die circuitry.
In accordance with aspects of the present invention, embodiments of microchannel heat exchangers and corresponding cooling solutions are disclosed herein that employ components that are do not suffer from the problems discussed above with respect to conventional approaches. Furthermore, these microchannel heat exchangers and cooling loops provide enhanced cooling rates when compared with those employed in research studies.
An integrated microchannel heat exchanger 300A in accordance with one embodiment of the invention is shown in
In the embodiment illustrated in
Generally, the layer (or layers) of solderable material may be formed over the top surface of the die 100 using one of many well-known techniques common to industry practices. For example, such techniques include but are not limited to sputtering, vapor deposition (chemical and physical), and plating. The formation of the solderable material layer may occur prior to die fabrication (i.e., at the wafer level) or after die fabrication processes are performed.
In one embodiment solder 312 may initially comprise a solder preform having a pre-formed shape conducive to the particular configuration of the bonding surfaces. The solder preform is placed between the die and the metallic thermal mass during a pre-assembly operation and then heated to a reflow temperature at which point the solder melts. The temperature of the solder and joined components are then lowered until the solder solidifies, thus forming a bond between the joined components. Furthermore, the solidified solder forms a hermetic seals between the bottom of the internal and external walls and the top of the die.
As shown in
In another embodiment corresponding to an integrated microchannel heat exchanger 300C shown in
A further consideration related to the embodiment of
An IC package 320 corresponding to an exemplary use of microchannel heat exchanger 300A (illustrated), 300B, and 300C is shown in
In an alternative scheme, depicted in
As shown in
In most configurations, the material used for the standoffs will be a metal, such as aluminum, steel, or copper. These metals have higher CTE's than typical die materials (semiconductors, such as silicon). As a result, when the temperature increases, the thickness of the TIM layer will increase due to the higher expansion rate of the metal standoff than the die. Since the TIM layer is very compliant and adheres to the two material faces, it easily accommodates this expansion. At the same time, the metal in the microchannel heat exchanger expands horizontally at a different rate than the die does. The relative expansion between the two components is also easily handled by the TIM layer.
Microchannel heat exchanger/die subssemblies 400A and 400B are substantially similar except for their respective microchannel heat exchangers 404A and 404B. Microchannel heat exchanger 404A comprises a metallic thermal mass 412 having a plurality of open channels formed therein. A plate 414 is employed to close the channels, thereby forming closed microchannels 416. Ideally, the plate should be coupled to the top of the channel walls in a manner that forms a hermitic seal. If necessary, one of several well-known sealants may be disposed between the plate and the tops of the channel walls to facilitate this condition. In one embodiment, plate 414 is soldered to thermal mass 412, in a manner similar to that discussed above with reference to
In contrast, a plurality of closed microchannels 418 are formed in a metallic thermal mass 420 for microchannel heat exchanger 400B, thus eliminating the need for a hermetic seal. In general, microchannels 418 may be formed using one of many metal forming techniques, such as casting, forging, and machining (e.g., electrical discharge machining).
An exemplary package 450 made from sub-assembly 400A is shown in
In accordance with further aspects of the invention, IC packaging configurations employing multiple microchannel heat exchangers are now disclosed. In general, the following IC packages employ a pair of microchannel heat exchangers disposed on opposite sides of the IC die. Although the illustrated embodiments show particular configurations, it shall be recognized that any of the microchannel heat exchanger configurations discussed above may be employed for the IC packages.
In a first type of configuration shown in
IC packages 600A and 600B shown in
In a second type of configuration shown in
It is noted that various internal connection paths provided by the substrates and chip carriers are not shown in the Figures for clarity. In actual implementations, these components will need to be configured with appropriate internal connection routing paths that avoid the built-in microchannels. Thus, in most instances corresponding to configurations in which connection paths between pads on the top to pads on the bottom of to be provided, the substrate or carrier chip should comprise a single piece, for ease of manufacture, although it is possible to use a two-piece assembly (which would require electrical connections between the two pieces. In situations in which pads on top of a component are coupled to the side of the components, as is common in leaded and non-leaded chip carrier packages, a two-piece assembly may be employed, such as that shown in
Plan and cross-section views illustrating typical channel configurations are shown in
Channel configuration parameters for rectangular channel shapes are shown in
Typically, the microchannels will have a hydraulic diameter (e.g., channel width W) in the hundreds of micrometers (μm), although sub-channels may be employed having hydraulic diameters of 100 μm or less. Similarly, the depth D of the channels will be of the same order of magnitude. It is believed that the pressure drop is key to achieving low and uniform junction temperature, which leads to increasing the channel widths. However, channels with high aspect rations (W/D) may induce flow instability due to the lateral variation of the flow velocity and the relatively low value of viscous forces per unit volume.
In one embodiment target for cooling a 20 mm×20 mm chip, 25 channels having a width W of 700 um, a depth D of 300 um and a pitch P of 800 um are formed in a thermal mass 810 having an overall length LHE of 30 mm and an overall width WHE of 22 mm, with a channel length of 20 mm. The working fluid is water, and the liquid water flow rate for the entire channel array is 20 ml/min.
In addition to heat transfer from the IC die, which converts a portion of the working fluid to vapor, a closed loop cooling cycle removes heat from the system via a second heat exchanger (a.k.a., the heat rejecter). In general, the heat rejecter will comprise a volume or plurality of volumes having walls on which the vapor condenses. If the walls are kept at a temperature lower than the saturation temperature (for a given pressure condition), the vapor will condense, converting it back to the liquid phase.
In one embodiment, a “channeled” or hollowed finned heat sink is employed for the heat rejecter. Exemplary configurations for a channels heat sink 900 of such a configuration are shown in
Three exemplary channel configurations corresponding to channeled heat sink embodiments 900A, 900B, and 900C are shown in
Generally, the channeled heat sink may be formed using well-known manufacturing techniques targeted towards thin-walled components, and may be made from a variety of materials, including various metals and plastics. The manufacturing techniques include but are not limited to casting (e.g., investment casting) and molding (e.g., injection molding, rotational molding for plastic components), and stamping (for metal components). Operations such as brazing may also be employed for assembling multi-piece channeled heat sinks.
An exemplary cooling system 1000 that is illustrative of cooling loop configurations employing various embodiments of the cooling system components discussed herein is shown in FIG. 10. In general, the cooling system may be designed for cooling one or more components, such as IC dies, which produce significant levels of heat in a system, such as a laptop computer, PDA, pocket PC, etc. Typically, dual microchannel heat exchanger packaging will be targeted for higher power components, such as microprocessors, while single microchannel heat exchanger packaging will be targeted for (relatively) lower power components, such as chip sets, video chips, co-processors, and the like.
Cooling system 1000 employs a two-phase working fluid, such as but not limited to water. The working fluid is pumped through the system in liquid its liquid phase via a pump 1002. Generally, the pumps used in the closed loop cooling system employing microchannel heat exchangers in accordance with the embodiments described herein may comprise electromechanical (e.g., MEMS-based) or electro-osmotic pumps (also referred to as “electric kinetic” or “E-K” pumps). In one respect, electro-osmotic pumps are advantageous over electromechanical pumps since they do not have any moving parts, which typically leads to improved reliability. Since both of these pump technologies are known in the microfluidic arts, further details are not provided herein.
Pump 1002 provides working fluid in liquid form to the inlets of the various microchannel heat exchangers. In the illustrated embodiments, these correspond to the dual microchannel heat exchangers employed in an IC package 500A and the single integrated microchannel heat exchanger in an IC package 320A. As denoted by the “ . . . ” continuation marks, there may be a plurality of each two of IC package configuration employed in an actual system.
Upon passing through the various microchannel heat exchangers, a portion of the working fluid is converted from its liquid phase to a vapor phase. This vapor (along with non-converted liquid) exits each microchannel heat exchanger and is routed via appropriate ducting to a heat rejecter. In one embodiment, the heat rejecter comprises a channeled heat sink 900. Optionally, other types of heat rejecters may also be employed in other embodiments. The vapor is converted back to a liquid in the heat rejecter, which the exits the heat rejecter and is routed to the inlet of pump 1002, thus completing the cooling loop. In an optional configuration, a reservoir 1104 may be provided to enable additional working fluid to be added to the cooling loop in the event of working fluid losses, such as through evaporation at duct couplings.
Heat transfer rates have been simulated and/or calculated to verify the effectiveness of the various microchannel heat exchanger/spreader embodiments discussed above. Based on empirically measured heat transfer rates observed during two-phase water vapor convection heat transfer research studies, the simulations/calculations have indicated favorable cooling rates when compared with the prior art configurations discussed above. Furthermore, the simulations indicate that the microchannel heat exchangers are especially advantageous for cooling hot-spots in IC dies that do not produce an even heat distribution.
The above description of illustrated embodiments of the invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.
These modifications can be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description. The terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined entirely by the following claims, which are to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040190251 A1 | Sep 2004 | US |