Sandwich Plate Heatsink for Thin-Profile TIM Pressure Stability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current heat sink designs face challenges in managing thermal performance and solder joint reliability due to increased thermal loads and stiffness requirements, often leading to issues like TIM pressure reduction and solder joint failure, especially in thin-profile electronic devices.

Innovation Solution

A sandwich plate heatsink construction that incorporates a top stiffening plate loaded in tension over heat pipes, providing increased stiffness and a uniform load profile, which reduces the risk of solder joint failure and maintains TIM pressure without increasing the cold plate thickness.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the cold plate thickness is increased to provide sufficient stiffness, then the stiffness requirement is met, but the device profile becomes thicker

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovestiffnessVSAvoidprofile thickness

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The heatsink employs a composite sandwich structure combining a cold plate, heat pipes, and a top stiffening plate. This composite construction provides the required stiffness through the combined structural properties of multiple materials and layers, eliminating the need to increase the cold plate thickness alone while maintaining a thin overall profile.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of adding stiffness by increasing thickness in one dimension (cold plate), the solution distributes stiffness across multiple dimensions by introducing a top stiffening plate and heat pipes that span the structure, creating a three-dimensional sandwich construction that achieves rigidity without increasing single-dimensional thickness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

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

The sandwich plate heatsink effectively manages thermal loads, maintains TIM pressure, and reduces the risk of solder joint failure, while maintaining a thin profile, thus enhancing thermal performance and reliability in electronic devices.

Implementation Method 1

one or more heat pipes over the cold plate

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHeat pipe: Heat Pipe

Implementation Method 2

The heat pipe is configured to carry the heat away from the heat source

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermal conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 3

a top stiffening plate loaded in tension over the one or more heat pipes, the top stiffening plate distributing a load more uniformly

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectTension loading: Tension

Data Source

PatentUS11963335B2Heatsink with a sandwich plate construction

Publication Date: 2024.04.16 INTEL CORP

AI summary

Particular embodiments described herein provide for an electronic device that can be configured to include a sandwich plate construction heatsink. The sandwich plate construction heatsink can include a cold plate, one or more heat pipes over the cold plate, and a top plate over the one or more heat pipes. The cold plate can include a channel to accommodate the one or more heat pipes and/or the top plate can include a channel to accommodate the one or more heat pipes. The cold plate can be over a heat source in the electronic device.