Transistor-scale thermoelectric devices for refrigeration of integrated circuits
Thermoelectric (TE) devices and their manufacture on integrated circuit (IC) dies to improve thermal performance. An IC die may include a substrate with transistors on one side, a heat spreader on a second side, and a TE device between them. The TE device may have TE elements with similar dimensions as transistor features. An IC die with transistor circuitry blocks in multiple areas of an IC die may include TE devices between each of the transistor circuitry blocks and a heat spreader.
1 . A system, comprising:
a first circuitry block in a first area of an integrated circuit (IC) die, wherein the first circuitry block comprises a plurality of first transistor structures, wherein the first transistor structures comprise channel portions within first fins extending from a first side of a substrate;
a second circuitry block in a second area of the IC die, wherein the second circuitry block comprises a plurality of second transistor structures, wherein the second transistor structures comprise channel portions within second fins extending from the first side of the substrate;
a heat spreader over a second side of the substrate, the heat spreader extending between the first area of the IC die and the second area of the IC die; and
a first thermoelectric (TE) device between the first fins and the heat spreader and a second TE device between the second fins and the heat spreader, wherein the first and second TE devices each comprise series connected alternating TE elements having a lateral pitch no more than five times larger than a lateral pitch of the first or second fins.
2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a power supply coupled to power the IC die.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the power supply has independent power connections to the first and second TE devices.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first TE device is not more than 1000 nm below the first fins, the second TE device is not more than 1000 nm below the second fins, and the heat spreader is not more than 300 nm from both the first and second TE devices.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein individual ones of the first and second fins are not more than 10 nm wide, individual ones of the TE elements are not more than 40 nm wide, and the TE elements are not more than 1000 nm below the fins.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a cooling structure, the cooling structure to remove heat from an IC die to achieve an operating temperature less than-25° C.
7 . The IC die-system of claim 1 , wherein:
a first of the alternating TE elements is silicon of a first conductivity type; and
a second of the alternating TE elements is either metal or silicon of a second, complementary, conductivity type.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the TE elements comprise zinc and oxygen.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the TE elements comprise silicon, germanium, indium, gallium, bismuth, antimony, or tellurium.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the heat spreader comprises copper.
11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the IC die comprises or is thermally coupled to a cooling structure, the cooling structure to remove heat from an IC die to achieve an operating temperature at or below −25° C.