scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal ArticleDOI

Thermal issues in next-generation integrated circuits

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors systematically explore the limits for heat removal from a model chip in various configurations, and identify bottlenecks in the thermal performance of current generation packages and motivate lowering of thermal resistance through the board-side for efficient heat removal to meet ever increasing reliability and performance requirements.
Abstract: The drive for higher performance has led to greater integration and higher clock frequency of microprocessor chips. This translates into higher heat dissipation and, therefore, effective cooling of electronic chips is becoming increasingly important for their reliable performance. We systematically explore the limits for heat removal from a model chip in various configurations. First, the heat removal from a bare chip by pure heat conduction and convection is studied to establish the theoretical limit of heat removal from a bare die bound by an infinite medium. This is followed by an analysis of heat removal from a packaged chip by evaluating the thermal resistance due to individual packaging elements. The analysis results allow us to identify the bottlenecks in the thermal performance of current generation packages, and to motivate lowering of thermal resistance through the board-side for efficient heat removal to meet ever increasing reliability and performance requirements.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A comprehensive overview of the physics of pressure-driven laminar flow, the formal analogy between electric and hydraulic circuits, applications of circuit theory to microfluidic network-based devices, recent development and applications of concentration- and flow-dependent micro fluidic networks, and promising future applications is provided.
Abstract: This article reviews the application of electric circuit methods for the analysis of pressure-driven microfluidic networks with an emphasis on concentration- and flow-dependent systems. The application of circuit methods to microfluidics is based on the analogous behaviour of hydraulic and electric circuits with correlations of pressure to voltage, volumetric flow rate to current, and hydraulic to electric resistance. Circuit analysis enables rapid predictions of pressure-driven laminar flow in microchannels and is very useful for designing complex microfluidic networks in advance of fabrication. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the physics of pressure-driven laminar flow, the formal analogy between electric and hydraulic circuits, applications of circuit theory to microfluidic network-based devices, recent development and applications of concentration- and flow-dependent microfluidic networks, and promising future applications. The lab-on-a-chip (LOC) and microfluidics community will gain insightful ideas and practical design strategies for developing unique microfluidic network-based devices to address a broad range of biological, chemical, pharmaceutical, and other scientific and technical challenges.

541 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on synthesis and thermal properties of the electrically conductive thermal interface materials with the hybrid graphene-metal particle fillers and show that the thermal conductivity of resulting composites was increased by ∼500% in a temperature range from 300 to 400 k at a small graphene loading fraction of 5-vol.-%.
Abstract: The authors report on synthesis and thermal properties of the electrically conductive thermal interface materials with the hybrid graphene-metal particle fillers. The thermal conductivity of resulting composites was increased by ∼500% in a temperature range from 300 K to 400 K at a small graphene loading fraction of 5-vol.-%. The unusually strong enhancement of thermal properties was attributed to the high intrinsic thermal conductivity of graphene, strong graphene coupling to matrix materials, and the large range of the length-scale—from nanometers to micrometers—of the graphene and silver particle fillers. The obtained results are important for the thermal management of advanced electronics and optoelectronics.

359 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reported on the experimental investigation of the high-temperature electrical resistance of graphene and fabricated the test structures were fabricated by using the focused ion beam from the single and bilayer graphene produced by mechanical exfoliation.
Abstract: The authors reported on the experimental investigation of the high-temperature electrical resistance of graphene. The test structures were fabricated by using the focused ion beam from the single and bilayer graphene produced by mechanical exfoliation. It was found that as temperature increases from 300to500K, the resistance of the single, and bilayer graphene interconnects drops down by 30% and 70%, respectively. The quenching and temperature dependence of the resistance were explained by the thermal generation of the electron-hole pairs and carrier scattering by acoustic phonons. The obtained results are important for the proposed graphene interconnect applications in integrated circuits.

238 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Experimental results indicate that use of the CNT-enabled, purely nano-structured interfaces appear to improve boiling heat transfer only at very low superheats, as compared to the smooth surfaces.

177 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an overall review on chip cooling using liquid metals or their alloys as coolant, and some new advancement in making a liquid metal cooling device will be discussed.
Abstract: With the rapid improvement of computer performance, tremendous heat generation in the chip becomes a major serious concern for thermal management. Meanwhile, CPU chips are becoming smaller and smaller with almost no room for the heat to escape. The total power-dissipation levels now reside on the order of 100 W with a peak power density of 400–500 W/cm2, and are still steadily climbing. As a result, it is extremely hard to attain higher performance and reliability. Because the conventional conduction and forcedair convection techniques are becoming incapable in providing adequate cooling for sophisticated electronic systems, new solutions such as liquid cooling, thermoelectric cooling, heat pipes, vapor chambers, etc. are being studied. Recently, it was realized that using a liquid metal or its alloys with a low melting point as coolant could significantly lower the chip temperature. This new generation heat transfer enhancement method raised many important fundamentals and practical issues to be solved. To accommodate to the coming endeavor in this area, this paper is dedicated to presenting an overall review on chip cooling using liquid metals or their alloys as coolant. Much more attention will be paid to the thermal properties of liquid metals with low melting points or their alloys and their potential applications in the chip cooling. Meanwhile, principles of several typical pumping methods such as mechanical, electromagnetic or peristaltic pumps will be illustrated. Some new advancement in making a liquid metal cooling device will be discussed. The liquid metal cooling is expected to open a new world for computer chip cooling because of its evident merits over traditional coolant.

143 citations

References
More filters
Book
11 Sep 1985
TL;DR: This paper introduced the physical effects underlying heat and mass transfer phenomena and developed methodologies for solving a variety of real-world problems, such as energy minimization, mass transfer, and energy maximization.
Abstract: This undergraduate-level engineering text introduces the physical effects underlying heat and mass transfer phenomena and develops methodologies for solving a variety of real-world problems.

13,209 citations


"Thermal issues in next-generation i..." refers background in this paper

  • ...transfer coefficients for various regimes are given in [ 7 ]....

    [...]

01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight design and technology challenges encountered in mobile computers, desktops, and servers with respect to thermal design for a microprocessor and highlight the concurrent development and packaging of all these elements to ensure that a viable thermal design solution space exists.
Abstract: The demand for high-performance microprocessors has resulted in an escalation of power dissipation as well as heat flux at the silicon level. At the same time, the desire for smaller form-factor chassis and lower silicon operating temperatures is compounding the thermal challenge. Thermal design for a microprocessor can no longer be treated in isolation. Power and performance trade offs and smart circuit-design techniques are required to conserve power consumption. Materials and process improvements in packaging and heat-sink technology are required to minimize thermal resistance. The concurrent development and packaging of all these elements is critical to ensure that from a cost and availability perspective a viable thermal design solution space exists. This paper attempts to address this multidimensional problem, highlighting design and technology challenges encountered in mobile computers, desktops, and servers.

430 citations


"Thermal issues in next-generation i..." refers background in this paper

  • ...27 C W in the servers and workstations (high performance) segment, as reported in [9] may be well near the limit of practical air-cooled heat sink technology for microprocessor cooling....

    [...]

  • ...Table II lists some representative interface materials and corresponding thermal resistances associated with them [9], [11]....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A state-of-the-art assessment on ‘thermal interface materials’, including fundamentals, materials used, their performance, and how interface resistance is measured is provided.

340 citations


"Thermal issues in next-generation i..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Table II lists some representative interface materials and corresponding thermal resistances associated with them [9], [11]....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The general expression for the spreading resistance of an isoe ux, rectangular heat source on a two-layer rectangular channel with convective or conductive cooling at one boundary is presented in this article.
Abstract: The general expression for the spreading resistance of an isoe ux, rectangular heat source on a two-layer rectangular e ux channel with convective or conductive cooling at one boundary is presented. The general expression depends on several dimensionless geometric and thermal parameters. Expressions are given for some two- and three-dimensional spreading resistances for two-layer and isotropic e nite and semi-ine nite systems. The effect of heat e ux distribution over strip sources on two-dimensional spreading resistances is discussed. Tabulated values are presented for three e ux distributions, the true isothermal strip, and a related nonisoe ux, nonisothermal problem. For narrow strips, the effect of the e ux distribution becomes relatively small. The dimensionless spreading resistance for an isoe ux square source on an isotropic square e ux tube is discussed, and a correlation equation is reported. The closed-form expression for the dimensionless spreading resistance for an isoe ux rectangular source on an isotropic half-space is given.

145 citations

Proceedings ArticleDOI
07 Feb 1995
TL;DR: In this paper, a thermally enhanced ball grid array (SuperBGA) was developed and its thermal performance was analyzed using a non-linear, lumped-parameter model.
Abstract: A thermally enhanced ball grid array package (SuperBGA package) has been developed. Its thermal performance has been analyzed using a non-linear, lumped-parameter model. This model uses a temperature-dependent heat transfer coefficient which accounts for the natural, mixed, and forced convection regimes and radiative heat transfer. The accuracy of the model was verified experimentally using one package size. The model was then used to predict the thermal performance of other package sizes and to rationalize the high level of thermal performance exhibited by the package.

101 citations