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October 9th, 2007

Nanotech for flip-chips blows hot and cold

Abstract:
Nextreme Inc. (Research Triangle Park, N.C.) claims to have solved the over-heating problem with modern flip-chips with its thermal copper pillar bumps. The technology embeds a thermoelectric cooler into each bump, which can either help cool chips, or can be used in reverse to generate energy from waste heat.

"Over the last decade, thermal power management has become one of the most important issues in semiconductor packaging," said Jeff Doubrava, managing partner of Prismark Partners, LLC (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) "Nextreme's technology is addressing this problem, and we believe they are heading in the right direction."

Nextreme's thermal copper pillar technology studs the backside of flip-chips with solder bumps that not only make an electrical connection, but also help transfer heat out of the chip. The copper pillars are made thermally active by incorporating a proprietary nanoscale thermoelectric thin film into each bump. When current passes through the bumps, one end of the thermoelectrically active structure cools faster than the other, creating a thermal differential that cools chips faster.

Source:
eetimes.com

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