Patent · US Expired

Microchannel cooling of high power semiconductor devices

US5801442A · kind A · utility

101Cited by
7References
22Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 22, 1996
Grant dateSep 1, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 22, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01L2924/3011
  • WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

Cooling of densely packaged semiconductor devices is achieved by microchannels which extract heat by forced convection and the use of fluid coolant located as close as possible to the heat source. The microchannels maximize heat sink surface area and provides improved heat transfer coefficients, thereby allowing a higher power density of semiconductor devices without increasing junction temperature or decreasing reliability. In its preferred embodiment, a plurality of microchannels are formed directly in the substrate portion of a silicon or silicon carbide chip or die mounted on a ground plane element of a circuit board and where a liquid coolant is fed to and from the microchannels through the ground plane. The microchannels comprise a plurality of closed-ended slots or grooves of generally rectangular cross section. Fabrication methods include deposition and etching, lift-off processing, micromachining and laser cutting techniques.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.