Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-01
2001-07-03
Picard, Leo P. (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S704000, C361S707000, C257S721000, C257S722000, C174S016300, C165S185000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06256199
ABSTRACT:
FIELD
The present invention relates generally to computer board and chip packaging, and more specifically to chip package design and manufacturing.
BACKGROUND
Semiconductor technology continues to advance at a rapid rate. Advancements include increases in semiconductor die density which allows for ever-increasing amounts of circuitry in any given die size, and also include increases in speeds at which semiconductor circuits operate. Higher semiconductor die densities and increased semiconductor circuit speeds combine to increase the computational speed in computers and other electronic devices.
Along with increased density and speed of semiconductor devices comes increased power consumption. State-of-the-art semiconductor circuits can consume considerable amounts of power, much of which gets dissipated as heat. The problem of increased heat dissipation is compounded by the fact that as semiconductor dice shrink, the amount of heat to be dissipated per unit area of semiconductor die increases.
Heat is typically dissipated from semiconductor dice through packages in which they are housed. A surface area of the semiconductor die is typically thermally bonded to a part of the package for the purpose of dissipating heat from the die. As the combined die and package undergo thermal and physical stress in normal testing and usage, the integrity of the thermal bond tends to degrade. As long as the die can continue to dissipate enough heat, the degradation can be tolerated.
As the need for power dissipation increases, the ability to withstand degradation of thermal bonds decreases. Continued integrity of thermal bonds between semiconductor dice and their packages after undergoing physical and thermal stresses can help high power semiconductor devices dissipate heat.
The demand for semiconductors also continues to increase, and as a result, high power semiconductors are being manufactured in greater and greater quantities. Manufacturability is an important consideration in any high-volume production environment, and semiconductors and their associated packages are no exception.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a readily manufacturable semiconductor packaging solution capable of efficiently dissipating heat.
SUMMARY
In one embodiment, a packaged integrated circuit includes a cartridge housing, an integrated circuit die disposed in the cartridge housing, a layer of thermally conductive material disposed on the integrated circuit die, a heat pipe disposed on the layer of thermally conductive material, a thickness of the thermally conductive material forming a bond line thickness, and a spring clip engaged to the cartridge housing, wherein the spring clip provides a compressive force that works to decrease the bond line thickness.
In another embodiment, a method of assembling a cartridge for housing an integrated circuit die includes coupling a heat pipe to a cartridge housing, the heat pipe having a first side and an opposing side, the opposing side contacting the cartridge housing, the cartridge housing having a plurality of tab engaging points on an external surface, and coupling a substrate assembly that includes the integrated circuit die to the heat pipe, such that a junction between the integrated circuit die and first side of the heat pipe forms a bond line. The method further includes mounting a spring clip to the cartridge housing, the spring clip including a plurality of load arms contacting the substrate assembly, and including two tab arms substantially perpendicular to the plurality of load arms, each tab arm having tabs that engage the tab engaging points on the cartridge housing, thereby providing a compressive force on the integrated circuit die relative to the heat pipe.
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Brandenburger Peter
Chandran Biju
Cook, Jr. Johnny M.
Ekhlassi Hamid
Xie Hong
Datskovsky Michael
Intel Corporation
Picard Leo P.
Schwegman Lundberg Woessner & Kluth P.A.
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