Low Profile Sensor Package Cooling Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional chip cooling configurations are bulky, have limited heat dissipation due to small surface contact area, and cannot be applied over active areas of chips like image sensors, necessitating a compact cooling solution that maintains minimal thickness and exposes active areas.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a silicon substrate with formed cooling channels on one surface and thermally conductive material between substrates to enhance heat dissipation without increasing package height, allowing for integration with active areas and improved heat transfer through expanded surface area and heat pipes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a large heat sink is mounted to the top of the chip, then heat dissipation capability is improved, but the thickness of the packaged assembly becomes too large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from vertical heat dissipation (top-mounted heat sink) to lateral heat dissipation (side-mounted heat sink). The heat sink is positioned at the side of the chip package rather than on top, utilizing horizontal space instead of vertical space. This dimensional change allows effective heat dissipation while maintaining a low-profile package with reduced thickness.
2Temperature
If a tradition heat sink is applied over the active area, then heat dissipation is improved, but active areas cannot be exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the chip package into distinct functional zones: the active area region and the heat dissipation region. The heat sink is positioned in a region separate from the active area, allowing the active area to remain exposed and accessible while the heat sink handles thermal management. This spatial segmentation resolves the conflict between heat dissipation and active area exposure.
3Productivity
If the surface area of the chip in contact with heat sink is increased, then heat dissipation rate is improved, but the package structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The package substrate serves multiple functions: it provides mechanical support for the chip, electrical interconnection through traces and vias, and thermal management through the integrated heat sink. By making the substrate multi-functional, the patent increases the effective heat dissipation surface area without adding separate complex structures, as the substrate itself becomes the heat transfer pathway.
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 provides a low-profile, high-efficiency cooling solution that increases heat dissipation rates without adding thickness, enabling effective cooling of chips with exposed active areas while maintaining a compact structure.
Implementation Method 1
mounting the second surface of the silicon substrate to the first surface of the second substrate with thermally conductive material continuously disposed between the second surface of the silicon substrate and the first surface of the second substrate
Implementation Method 2
forming a plurality of cooling channels as first trenches extending into the second surface but not reaching the first surface
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor device and method of making same that includes a silicon substrate with opposing first and second surfaces, a sensor formed at or in the first surface, a plurality of first contact pads formed at the first surface which are electrically coupled to the sensor, and a plurality of cooling channels formed as first trenches extending into the second surface but not reaching the first surface. The cooling channels instead can be formed on one or more separate substrates that are attached to the silicon substrate for cooling the silicon substrate.