APPARATUS FOR THERMAL CHARACTERIZATION UNDER NON-UNIFORM HEAT LOAD

• US 20080212641A1
• Filed: 03/14/2008
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Globalfoundries US Incorporated (GlobalFoundries, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: SCHMIDT, ROGER R., LACEY, JAMES A., IYENGAR, MADHUSUDAN K., HAMANN, HENDRIK F.
• Granted Patent: US 7,651,260 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 374/137
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/34 Arrangements for cooling, heating, ventilating or temperature compensation ; Temperature sensing arrangements thermal treatment apparatus H01L21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

What is disclosed is an apparatus for determining the cooling characteristics of a cooling device used for transferring heat from an electronic device. The apparatus comprising a cooling device thermally coupled to a heat pipe. The heat pipe having an exposed surface for the selective application of heat thereon. A localized heat source is selectively applied to at least one region of the exposed surface. The heat source preferably capable of being varied both positionally relative to the exposed surface and in heat intensity. A heat shield is preferably positioned around the exposed surface of the heat pipe to isolate the operational cooling device from the localized heat source. A temperature detector repeatedly measures a temperature distribution across the exposed surface while the cooling device is in a heat transfer mode. The temperature distribution is then used to thermally characterize the cooling device.

Claims

1-44. -44. (canceled)

45. An apparatus for thermally characterizing a cooling device package, the apparatus comprising:

a cooling device as part of a cooling package for cooling an electronic device;

a heat pipe thermally coupled with said cooling device, said heat pipe having an exposed surface to receive a selective application of heat thereon;

a test chip thermally coupled to said exposed surface of said heat pipe;

a localized heat source that is selectively applied to said test chip; and

a temperature detector for measuring a temperature distribution on a surface of said test chip while said cooling device is in operation, said temperature distribution being used to thermally characterize said cooling device during operation.

46. The apparatus according to claim 45, further comprising a heat shield to isolate said cooling device from said localized heat source.

47. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the test chip comprises a heater patterned on a circuitry side of said test chip to provide bias heat when heat from said localized heat source is selectively applied onto said test chip to create a hot spot which is thermally transferred to said heat pipe.

48. The apparatus according to claim 45, further comprising at least one beam splitting optical element for spitting a laser beam into at least two paths for applying said localized heat source to said test chip.

49. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said temperature detector comprises at least one of a thermal resistive sensor and a thermocouple sensor.

50. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein at least one of a thermal resistive sensor and a thermocouple sensor is embedded on said test chip.

51. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said temperature detector comprises at least one of an IR thermal imager and a thermal reflector.

52. The apparatus according to claim 45, further comprising a blackbody coating applied to said test chip to facilitate said temperature distribution measurement.

53. The apparatus according to claim 45, further comprising a thermal interface material disposed between the test chip and said exposed surface of said heat pipe.

54. The apparatus according to claim 45, further comprising a blackbody coating disposed on at least one of said test chip and said heat pipe to facilitate said temperature distribution measurement across said thermal interface.

55. An apparatus for thermally characterizing a cooling device package, the apparatus comprising:

a cooling device as part of a cooling package for cooling an electronic device;

a heat pipe thermally coupled with said cooling device, said heat pipe having an exposed surface to receive a selective application of heat thereon;

a test chip thermally coupled to said exposed surface of said heat pipe, said test chip comprising a heater patterned on a circuitry side of said test chip to provide bias heat when heat from said localized heat source is selectively applied onto said test chip to create a hot spot which is thermally transferred onto said heat pipe;

a thermal interface material disposed between the test chip and said exposed surface of said heat pipe;

a localized heat source that is selectively applied to said test chip;

a heat shield to isolate said cooling device from said localized heat source; and

a temperature detector having at least one of a thermal resistive sensor and a thermocouple sensor for measuring a temperature distribution on a surface of said test chip while said cooling device is in operation, said temperature distribution being used to thermally characterize said cooling device during operation.

56. The apparatus according to claim 55, wherein said test chip comprises a heater patterned on a circuitry side of said test chip to provide bias heat when heat from said localized heat source is selectively applied onto said test chip to create a hot spot which is thermally transferred to said heat pipe.

57. The apparatus according to claim 55, further comprising at least one beam splitting optical element for spitting a laser beam into at least two paths for applying said localized heat source to said test chip.

58. The apparatus according to claim 55, wherein at least one of a thermal resistive sensor and a thermocouple sensor is embedded on said test chip.

59. The apparatus according to claim 55, wherein said temperature detector comprises at least one of an IR thermal imager and a thermal reflector.

60. The apparatus according to claim 55, further comprising a blackbody coating applied to said test chip to facilitate said temperature distribution measurement.

61. The apparatus according to claim 56, further comprising a blackbody coating disposed on at least one of the test chip and said exposed surface of said heat pipe to measure the temperature difference across the thermal interface.