System and method for heat dissipation

• US 9,158,349 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2013
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Dean, David, Ellis, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): DUONG, HUNG V
• Application Number:
  US14/135,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20150098176A1
• Time in Patent Office: 663 Days
• Field of Search: 345/179, 345/1.1, 345/211, 345/697, 345/173, 345/212, 345/207, 361/719, 361/749, 361/699, 361/679.37, 361/679.15, 361/679.5, 361/679.47, 361/679.31, 361/679.54, 361/679.48, 361/679.6, 361/679.46, 361/679.49, 361/679.58, 361/679.17, 361/679.32, 361/679.09, 361/679.33, 361/679.43, 361/679.06, 362/294, 362/547, 362/235, 362/147, 362/540, 362/382, 362/249.06, 362/244, 165/104.33, 165/104.29, 165/104.21, 165/80.1, 165/185, 165/67, 165/104.28, 165/122, 165/80.3, 439/487, 439/66, 439/71, 439/526, 439/910, 439/73, 439/638, 439/344, 439/196, 439/557, 455/562.1, 455/561, 455/230, 455/252.1, 455/456.1, 455/77, 455/434, 455/196, 455/557
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/185 Mounting of expansion boards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/20 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 5/04 Supports for storage elements , e.g. memory modules; Mounting or fixing of storage elements on such supports
• 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 23/467 by flowing gases, e.g. air H01L23/473 takes precedence
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0209 External configuration of printed circuit board adapted for heat dissipation, e.g. lay-out of conductors, coatings
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or adjusting assemblages of electric components
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/066 Heatsink mounted on the surface of the printed circuit board [PCB]
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10159 Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/366 substantially perpendicularly to each other H05K3/361 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 Conductor or circuit manufacturing

Abstract

The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to manage heat flow for dissipating heat generated by electronic components in an electronic system (e.g., a memory system that includes closely spaced memory modules). In one embodiment, heat sinks are disposed on front sides of a first module and a second module in the electronic system, and at least one heat sink in the second module is disposed between at least two heat sinks in the first module. In some embodiments, the number of heat sinks and/or a subset of geometric parameters for the locations, sizes and shapes of the heat sinks are configured for the purpose of disturbing and mixing air flow that passes an air gap between the front sides of the first and second modules.

Claims

1. An electronic system, comprising:

a first module comprising;

at least one first-module electronic component;

at least two first-module heat sinks thermally coupled to the at least one first-module electronic component, wherein there is a gap between the at least two first-module heat sinks;

a second module comprising;

at least one second-module electronic component; and

at least one second-module heat sink thermally coupled to the at least one second-module electronic component,

wherein the first and second modules are separated from each other by a predetermined distance such that the second-module heat sink is disposed in the gap between the at least two first-module heat sinks.

2. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the first module is a first memory module comprising a first-module substrate, and the at least one first-module electronic component is a memory integrated circuit coupled on the first-module substrate, and

wherein the second module is a second memory module comprising a second-module substrate, and the at least one second-module electronic component is a memory integrated circuit coupled on the second-module substrate.

3. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the at least two first-module heat sinks and the at least one second-module heat sink are configured for mixing air and air flow between the first module and the second module.

4. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the first module comprises a plurality of first-module heat sinks including the at least two first-module heat sinks, and the second module comprises a plurality of second-module heat sinks including the at least one second-module heat sink, and wherein the plurality of second-module heat sinks alternate with the plurality of first-module heat sinks, such that each of the plurality of second-module heat sinks is disposed in a respective gap between two of the plurality of first-module heat sinks.

5. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the at least two first-module heat sinks have a first thickness, and the at least one second-module heat sink has a second thickness, a sum of the first and second thicknesses being smaller than the predetermined distance.

6. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the at least two first-module heat sinks and the at least one second-module heat sink have a combined length along a planar axis that is substantially parallel to the first module and the second module, wherein the combined length is less than a length of the first module or the second module along the planar axis.

7. The electronic system of claim 6, wherein the combined length is selected from a group of one third, one quarter and one tenth of the length of the first module or the second module.

8. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein along an alternative planar axis that is substantially parallel to the first module and the second module, at least one heat sink among the at least two first-module heat sinks and the at least one second-module heat sink extends to cover more than half of the module width of the respective module along the alternative planar axis.

9. The electronic system of claim 8, wherein along the alternative planar axis, a subset of the at least two first-module heat sinks extend beyond the edges of a substrate of the first module, and are physically coupled to one another at their extended ends.

10. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein a heat spreader that has a substantially high thermal conductivity is disposed beneath each of the at least two first-module heat sinks to evenly spread heat dissipated from the at least one first-module electronic component.

11. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the at least two first-module heat sinks or the at least one second-module heat sink comprises a two-dimensional array of heat sinks covering at least a part of the substrate of the respective module.

12. The electronic system of claim 11, wherein the second-module heat sink is disposed in the gap between the at least two first-module heat sinks along a planar axis that is substantially parallel to the first module or the second module, and a subset of the at least one second-module heat sink alternates with a subset of the at least two first-module heat sinks along an alternative planar axis that is substantially parallel to the first or second substrate and perpendicular to the planar axis.

13. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the at least one first-module electronic component is coupled between the at least two first-module heat sinks and the substrate of the first module.

14. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the at least one first-module electronic component is monolithically integrated on a front side or a back side of the first module.

15. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the at least one first-module electronic component is mounted on a back side of the first module, and heat generated by the at least one first-module electronic component is conducted via the substrate of the first module to the at least two first-module heat sinks that are coupled on a front side of the first module.

16. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein at least one heat sink of the at least two first-module heat sinks and the at least one second-module heat sink has rounded corners and edges to control air flow between the first and second modules.

17. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein at least one heat sink of the at least two first-module heat sinks and the at least one second-module heat sink has a finned surface facing towards a separation gap between the first and second modules.

18. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the at least two first-module heat sinks are physically coupled together by a bridging heat sink structure that has a smaller thickness than the respective thickness of the at least two first-module heat sinks.

19. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein a layer of thermally conductive material is applied to couple the at least two first-module heat sinks and the at least one second-module heat sink to their respective electronic component or to their respective module.

20. A memory system, comprising:

a first memory module comprising;

at least one first-module memory component;

at least two first-module heat sinks thermally coupled to the at least one first-module memory component, wherein there is a gap between the at least two first-module heat sinks;

a second memory module comprising;

at least one second-module memory component; and

at least one second-module heat sink thermally coupled to the at least one second-module memory component,

wherein the first and second memory modules are separated from each other by a predetermined distance such that the second-module heat sink is disposed in the gap between the at least two first-module heat sinks.

21. A method of dissipating heat in an electronic system, comprising:

mounting at least two first-module heat sinks on a substrate of a first module to dissipate heat generated by at least one first-module electronic component integrated on the first module, wherein there is a gap between the at least two first-module heat sinks;

mounting at least one second-module heat sink on a substrate of a second module to dissipate heat generated by at least one second-module electronic component integrated on the second module; and

integrating the first module and the second module in the electronic system, such that at least a part of the first and second modules face one another and are separated by a predetermined distance, wherein the second-module heat sink is disposed in the gap between the at least two first-module heat sinks.

22. An electronic system, comprising:

a first module comprising;

a first-module front side;

at least one first-module electronic component;

at least two first-module heat sinks disposed at the first-module front side and thermally coupled to the at least one first-module electronic component;

a second module comprising;

a second-module front side that faces the first-module front side and is separated there from by a gap having a predetermined distance;

at least one second-module electronic component; and

at least one second-module heat sink disposed at the second-module front side and thermally coupled to the at least one second-module electronic component,

wherein the at least one second-module heat sink is disposed in the gap between the at least two first-module heat sinks.