Thermal interface material design for enhanced thermal performance and improved package structural integrity

1. An electronic package, comprising:

a semiconductor device;

a heat spreader layer; and

a thermal interface material layer located between said semiconductor device and said heat spreader layer, wherein

said thermal interface material layer includes a resin layer having heat conductive particles suspended therein, wherein the heat conductive particles are metal particles, and

a portion of said metal particles being exposed on at least one non-planar surface of said resin layer such that said portion of exposed particles occupy a majority of a total area of a horizontal plane of said non-planar surface.

2. The package of claim 1 , wherein said portion of exposed particles occupies at least about 70 percent of said total area of said horizontal plane.

3. The package of claim 1 , wherein said portion of exposed particles contact one of said heat spreader layer or said semiconductor device.

4. The package of claim 1 , wherein a second non-planar surface of said resin layer that is on an opposite side of said non-planar surface includes a second portion of exposed particles at said second non-planar surface.

5. The package of claim 1 , wherein said thermal interface material layer further includes one or more heat conductive layers adjacent to said resin layer and contacting said portion of exposed particles, and one of said heat conductive layers contacts said heat spreader layer or said semiconductor device.

6. The package of claim 1 , wherein said resin layer is an interior layer of said thermal interface material layer that further includes two outer heat conductive layers adjacent to opposite sides of said resin layer.

7. The package of claim 6 , wherein one of said outer conductive layers further contacts said semiconductor device and another of said outer conductive layers contact said heat spreader layer.