Thermal test dies are among the major tools used in package thermal design qualification. They are usually simple chips, containing heaters and temperature sensors. The sensors measure the temperature on the chip surface as a result of the steady state powering or the time dependence of the temperature increase or decrease in case of transient qualification. From these data, … [Read more...]
A system level cooling solution for cellular phone applications
Improving thermal performance of electronic components is very challenging due to the increasing power density and decreasing module sizes. The design trade off between electrical and mechanical characteristics and the cost of manufacturing MCM products requires innovative solutions to improve device thermal performance. The primary cooling path in portable electronics serves … [Read more...]
Determining the junction temperature in a semiconductor package, part III the use of the junction-to-board thermal characterization parameter
In recent issues, this column has dealt with the use of a number of thermal metrics to calculate the junction temperature of integrated circuits under various conditions. These metrics explored were JA, JC, and JT. To summarize the uses of these metrics: JA represents the junction-to-air thermal resistance for a package tested in an industry-standard test environment. It is … [Read more...]
Computer-related thermal packaging at the millenial divide
Examples of state-of-the-art thermal management solutions at the dawn of the 21st century (left to right): a TCM module, a high-density heat sink, and an ultra performance, low profile fan-sink. Thermal management has served as a key enabling technology in the development of advanced microelectronic systems and has facilitated many of the "Moore's Law" [Moore, G.E., 1975] … [Read more...]
The history of power dissipation
Figure 1. Transistor counts on Intel processors from inception to present superimposed on Moore's prediction. In his fascinating book, "Visions," Michio Kaku [1] predicts a future driven by silicon and quantum computers. Based on the information we have today, it is intriguing to speculate how such a highly silicon-based society might function and evolve. Being a thermal … [Read more...]
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