Molded Substrate Cooling with Integrated Fluid Conduits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current IC packaging technologies face challenges in accommodating active cooling due to manufacturing difficulties, which limits their ability to handle higher power densities and extreme environmental conditions, necessitating innovative solutions for effective thermal management.
Innovation Solution
The integration of fluid conduits within a molded substrate structure for active cooling, where the conduits are designed to convey heat transfer fluids through the substrate, enabling efficient heat removal from IC dies, even when top-side cooling is hindered, by using a multilayered molded substrate structure with fluid conduits that can be coupled to system-level coolant loops.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If passive cooling with heat spreader is used, then manufacturing is simple, but cooling effectiveness becomes inadequate for high power densities
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is divided into multiple layers with fluid conduits integrated within the internal structure. This segmentation allows active cooling channels to be embedded without compromising the overall manufacturing process, enabling effective heat removal while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through modular layer construction.
Solution Approach 2:
Fluid conduits are integrated within the substrate structure to enable active cooling through hydraulic flow. The conduits are formed using molded preforms with cavities that are sealed and filled with heat transfer fluid, allowing efficient thermal management for high power density applications.
2Reliability
If active cooling with fluid conduits is integrated, then cooling effectiveness improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Fluid conduits are formed within molded preforms before final assembly. The preforms are prepared in advance with integrated cavities and channels, and then attached to the substrate. This preliminary action simplifies the overall manufacturing process by pre-integrating cooling channels rather than adding them as a separate complex step.
Solution Approach 2:
The fluid conduit structure is merged with the substrate structure through integration of molded preforms containing the conduits. The preforms are attached to the substrate and then sealed with mold compound, combining the cooling function with the structural substrate into a unified assembly that reduces overall manufacturing complexity.
3Reliability
If top-side cooling is used, then heat removal is effective, but cooling is hindered when top-side access is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling approach transitions from top-side surface cooling to bottom-side through-cooling. Fluid conduits are positioned at the bottom of the substrate, allowing heat removal through the thickness dimension of the package. This dimensional change enables effective cooling when top-side access is blocked or impractical.
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
This approach enhances thermal management by allowing active cooling through the bottom side of IC dies, extending IC assembly lifetimes and supporting higher power densities in extreme environments with minimal incremental cost, thereby improving the reliability and performance of IC packages.
Implementation Method 1
a fluid conduit within a substrate structure, the fluid conduit operable for conveying a heat transfer fluid... allowing active cooling through the bottom side of IC dies
Implementation Method 2
enabling efficient heat removal from IC dies... enhancing thermal management by allowing active cooling
Data Source
AI summary
Package assemblies with a molded substrate comprising fluid conduits. The fluid conduits may be operable for conveying a fluid (e.g., liquid and/or vapor) through some portion of the package substrate structure. Fluid conduits may be at least partially defined by an interconnect trace comprising a metal. The fluid conveyance may improve thermal management of the package assembly, for example removing heat dissipated by one or more integrated circuits (ICs) of the package assembly.