Diamond IC Packaging Structures for Junction Heat Dissipation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing integrated circuits (ICs) and IC packaging technologies face challenges in achieving high processing rates, low latency, high bandwidth, and high storage capacities while managing heat dissipation and thermal management, particularly in advanced applications such as high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and 5G RF/mmWave, where silicon-based technologies are nearing their performance limits.
Innovation Solution
Incorporation of diamond-containing layers and bi-wafer microstructures in advanced ICs and SiPs to enhance thermal conductivity, reduce operating junction temperatures, and improve reliability through processes such as deep reactive ion etching, chemical vapor deposition, and copper plating to create 2.5D interposers, 3D IC stacks, and fanout packages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If silicon-based technologies are used to achieve high processing rates and high storage capacities, then computing performance is improved, but heat dissipation becomes difficult and thermal management becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from silicon to diamond, which has fundamentally different thermal properties. Diamond's thermal conductivity is 5-10 times higher than silicon, enabling effective heat dissipation while maintaining the high processing rates required for HPC and AI applications
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite structures where diamond is integrated with silicon-based ICs and interposer materials. This creates a hybrid system that combines the electronic performance of silicon with the superior thermal management of diamond, resolving the contradiction between high productivity and temperature control
2Temperature
If diamond-containing layers are incorporated to improve thermal conductivity, then heat dissipation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the thermal management function from the computational function by using separate diamond thermal management layers and interposers. This allows the diamond components to be optimized for thermal conductivity while the silicon ICs maintain their computational functionality, managing complexity through functional separation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces diamond interposers as intermediary structures between the silicon IC and the substrate. These interposers serve as thermal mediators that conduct heat away from the IC while providing electrical interconnection, thus improving heat dissipation without directly complicating the IC structure itself
3Quantity of substance
If advanced IC packaging technologies are used to achieve high integration densities, then packing density is improved, but thermal management becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from planar (2D) thermal management to three-dimensional (3D) thermal management by stacking multiple IC layers on diamond interposers. Heat can be dissipated through multiple pathways in the z-direction, enabling high integration density while maintaining effective thermal management through vertical heat extraction paths
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Diamond's extreme thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion properties enable advanced ICs and SiPs to dissipate heat effectively, reducing junction temperatures by up to 10°C, improving performance and reliability, and enabling higher integration densities and longer product life.
Implementation Method 1
Diamond's extreme thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion properties enable advanced ICs and SiPs to dissipate heat effectively
Implementation Method 2
Incorporation of diamond-containing layers and bi-wafer microstructures in advanced ICs and SiPs to enhance thermal conductivity
Implementation Method 3
copper plating to create 2.5D interposers, 3D IC stacks, and fanout packages
Data Source
AI summary
This invention provides opportunity for diamond and bi-wafer microstructures to be implemented in advanced ICs and advanced IC packages to form a new breed of ICs and SiPs that go beyond the limitations of silicon at the forefront of IC advancement due primarily to diamond's extreme heat dissipating ability. Establishing the diamond and bi-wafer microstructure capabilities and implementing them in advanced ICs and advanced IC packages gives IC and package architects and designers “an extra degree of design freedom” in achieving extreme IC performance, particularly when thermal management presents a challenge. Diamond's extreme heat spreading ability can be used to dissipate hotspots in processors and other high-power chips such as GaN HEMT, resulting in performance and reliability enhancement for IC and package applications covering HPC, AI, photonics, 5G RF/mmWave, power and IoT, and at the system level propelling the migration from traditional computing to near-memory computing and in-memory computing.