Method of controlling thermal interface material bond-line thickness to reduce thermal resistance in a semiconductor package

Method of controlling thermal interface material bond-line thickness to reduce thermal resistance in a semiconductor package

Disclosed is a method of controlling thermal interface material bond-line thickness to reduce thermal resistance in a semiconductor package. Benefits include reduced impedance, reduced filler size, and reduced resistance.

Background

              Heat removal becomes a challenge as die power consumption, size, and heat density increases with every new generation of microprocessors. Thermal interface materials are used to effectively dissipate heat and hence reduce thermal resistance of the package.

              Conventional solutions control bond line thickness through process parameters such as dispensed material weight and applied force. However, these techniques do not produce consistent and predictable bond line thickness and thermal performance.

General description

              The disclosed method reduces and controls the maximum thermal interface material filler size to achieve stable and thinner bond line thickness, resulting in lower thermal impedance. Reduced filler size improves thermal resistance by up to 25%.

      The key elements of the method include the use of thermal interface material with metal or ceramic filler for bond line thickness control.

Advantages

              The technical advantage of the disclosed method is to control the thermal interface material bond line thickness to improve thermal impedance by an in-place material design solution. When the maximum size of the filler is reduced and tightly controlled, the bond line thickness...