Thermal contacts at periphery of integrated circuit packages
Present disclosure relates to IC packages with integrated thermal contacts. In some embodiments, an IC package includes a package substrate, an IC die that is coupled to the package substrate, and at least one thermal contact for coupling to at least a portion of a heat exchanger, where the thermal contact is limited to being in a region located at a periphery of the IC package. In some embodiments, thermal contacts are such that at least a portion of a heat exchanger is to be attached on the side of the IC package. In some embodiments, thermal contacts may be provided within a recessed portion at the periphery of the IC package. Providing a thermal contact at a periphery of an IC package may enable improved cooling options, especially for systems where there is no or limited space for providing conventional heat exchangers on the top of the package.
1. An integrated circuit (IC) package, comprising:
a package substrate;
an IC die coupled to the package substrate, an upper surface of the IC die comprising a first portion and a different second portion;
a thermal contact for coupling to at least a portion of a heat exchanger, the thermal contact in a region at a periphery of the IC package, a lower surface of the thermal contact comprising a third portion and a different fourth portion; and
a mold over the first portion of the upper surface of the IC die in plan view and directly under the third portion of the lower surface of the thermal contact,
wherein:
the thermal contact comprises a thermally conductive material,
the fourth portion of the lower surface of the thermal contact overlaps the second portion of the upper surface of the IC die,
the mold extends to a first distance over the upper surface of the IC die,
the thermal contact extends to a second distance over the upper surface of the IC die,
the second distance is less than the first distance,
the mold over the first portion of the upper surface of the IC die has a first side surface perpendicular to the upper surface of the IC die,
the thermal contact has a second side surface perpendicular to the upper surface of the IC die, and
the first side surface of the mold is in direct contact with the second side surface of the thermal contact.
2. The IC package according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal contact is thermally coupled with the IC die.
3. The IC package according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal contact includes a contact surface for thermally coupling the thermal contact and the portion of the heat exchanger, the contact surface being substantially parallel to a plane of the package substrate.
4. The IC package according to claim 3 , wherein the mold is over one or more upper surfaces of the package substrate in plan view.
5. The IC package according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal contact includes a contact surface for thermally coupling the thermal contact and the portion of the heat exchanger, the contact surface being substantially perpendicular to a plane of the package substrate.
6. The IC package according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal contact includes an opening for receiving at least a portion of the heat exchanger.
7. The IC package according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the package substrate and an upper surface of the thermal contact is equal to or less than a distance between the package substrate and an upper surface of a mold over one or more upper surfaces of the IC die and the package substrate.
8. The IC package according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal contact is such that, when the heat exchanger is thermally coupled to the thermal contact, an upper surface of the heat exchanger does not extend beyond an upper surface of the IC package by more than 100 nanometers.
9. The IC package according to claim 1 , wherein the IC die is one of a plurality of IC dies stacked to one another, and wherein the thermal contact is thermally coupled to one or more of the plurality of IC dies.
10. The IC package according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal contact is a frame at edges of the package substrate or at edges of the IC die.
11. The IC package according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal contact includes silicon.
12. The IC package according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal contact includes one or more metals.
13. An integrated circuit (IC) package, comprising:
a package substrate;
an IC die coupled to the package substrate, the IC die comprising a first portion and a different second portion, the second portion being thinner than the first portion;
a thermal contact, a lower surface of the thermal contact overlapping an upper surface of the second portion of the IC die; and
a backside protection layer over an upper surface of the first portion of the IC die,
wherein:
the first portion of the IC die has a first side surface perpendicular to the upper surface of the second portion of the IC die,
the thermal contact has a second side surface perpendicular to the upper surface of the second portion of the IC die,
the first side surface is in direct contact with the second surface,
the thermal contact comprises a thermally conductive material,
the lower surface of the thermal contact does not overlap the first portion of the IC die in plan view, and
the backside protection layer does not overlap the thermal contact in plan view.
14. The IC package according to claim 13 , wherein a thermal contact area for coupling to at least a portion of a heat exchanger is in a region at a periphery of the IC package, wherein the region at the periphery is a closed-contour region at the periphery of the IC package.
15. The IC package according to claim 13 , wherein the second portion of the IC die includes a semiconductor material.
16. The IC package according to claim 13 , wherein the upper surface of the second portion of the IC die comprises a contact surface for thermally coupling the IC die and a portion of a heat exchanger, the contact surface being substantially parallel to a plane of the package substrate.
17. The IC package according to claim 13 , further comprising a mold over one or more upper surfaces of the package substrate.
18. An integrated circuit (IC) package, comprising:
a package substrate;
an IC die coupled to the package substrate, an upper surface of the IC die comprising a first portion and a different second portion coplanar with the first portion;
a thermal contact for coupling to at least a portion of a heat exchanger, the thermal contact in a region at a periphery of the IC package, a lower surface of the thermal contact comprising a third portion and a different fourth portion; and
a first mold over the first portion of the upper surface of the IC die in plan view, the first mold covering a smaller area than the first portion of the upper surface of the IC die in plan view;
a second mold directly under the third portion of the lower surface of the thermal contact in plan view,
wherein:
the thermal contact comprises a thermally conductive material,
the fourth portion of the lower surface of the thermal contact overlaps the second portion of the upper surface of the IC die,
the first mold has a first side surface perpendicular to the upper surface of the IC die,
the thermal contact has a second side surface perpendicular to the upper surface of the IC die, and
the first side surface of the first mold is in direct contact with the second side surface of the thermal contact.
19. The IC package of claim 18 , wherein:
the thermal contact surrounds the first mold, and
the second mold surrounds the IC die.
20. The IC package of claim 18 , further comprising an attach layer between the thermal contact and the IC die.
21. The IC package of claim 18 , further comprising a heat exchanger coupled to the thermal contact.
22. An integrated circuit (IC) package, comprising:
a package substrate;
an IC die coupled to the package substrate, an upper surface of the IC die comprising a first portion and a different second portion;
a thermal contact for coupling to at least a portion of a heat exchanger, a lower surface of the thermal contact comprising a third portion and a different fourth portion; and
a mold over the first portion of the upper surface of the IC die in plan view and directly under the third portion of the lower surface of the thermal contact,
wherein:
the thermal contact comprises a thermally conductive material,
the fourth portion of the lower surface of the thermal contact overlaps the second portion of the upper surface of the IC die,
the mold over the first portion of the upper surface of the IC die has a first side surface perpendicular to the upper surface of the IC die,
the thermal contact has a second side surface perpendicular to the upper surface of the IC die,
the first side surface of the mold is in direct contact with the second side surface of the thermal contact,
the thermal contact has a third side surface opposite to the second side surface, and
the third side surface has a cavity to accommodate a heat exchanger.
23. The IC package of claim 22 , wherein the heat exchanger extends beyond the third side surface of the thermal contact.
24. The IC package of claim 22 , wherein:
the thermal contact is on a first side of the IC die,
the IC die has wire bonds on a second side opposite to the first side.
25. The IC package of claim 22 , wherein the thermal contact is shorter than the IC die in plan view.