HIGH-DENSITY, INTEGRATED CIRCUIT CHIP PACKAGE
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a high-density package for
integrated circuit chips. More particularly, the present invention relates to a
high-density package for integrated circuit chips with thermal enhancement
capabilities.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The field of computers has made substantial improvements
throughout the years. Most of the improvements deal with increasing the
memory capacity of the computers. At the same time, there is great effort in
decreasing the size of the computers so that portable computers and notebook-
sized computers presently have substantial memory capacity, easily equaling the
capacity of desktop computers of just a few years ago.
The different types of memory generally include integrated circuit
chips which are mounted on printed circuit boards or other types of carriers.
The integrated circuit chips are made smaller and smaller in dimension, and yet
carry more and more electronic elements thereon. As the number of integrated
circuit chips on a carrier increases, the heat generated by such chips poses a
substantial problem. Clearly, excessive heat will adversely affect the operation
of the integrated circuits.
Therefore, the drive for increased memory capacity leads to more
integrated circuits in smaller and smaller areas. This poses substantial problems
to designers of high-density packages for integrated circuit chips.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide
a high-density package for integrated circuit chips.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a high-
density package which has substantially improved thermal capabilities.
A feature of the present invention is to use a thermally
conductive stiffener for mounting the integrated circuit chips thereon.
Still another feature of the present invention is to mount the
integrated circuit chips on opposite surfaces of the thermally conductive
stiffener, so as to increase the number of integrated circuit chips that may be
mounted in a specific volume of the high-density package.
Still another feature of the present invention is to attach the
integrated circuits mounted on the thermally conductive stiffener to a carrier
member which can make electrical contact with the integrated circuit chips
mounted on both sides of the thermally conductive stiffener.
Still, a further object of the present invention is to provide a
high-density package which may be stacked with other similar high-density
packages and mounted on a mother board for use as memory in a computer, for
example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent upon further consideration of the following
detailed description of the invention, when read in conjunction with the figures
in which:
Figure 1 is a top view of a thermally conductive stiffener used
for mounting integrated circuit chips in accordance with the first embodiment
of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a top view of a stiffener used for mounting a plurality
of columns of integrated circuit chips in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 3 is a side view, partially in section, of a high-density
package constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,
showing the thermally conductive stiffener, the integrated circuit chips, and a
carrier;
Figure 4 is a side view, partially in section, of an embodiment
similar to that of Figure 3, with a different type of carrier;
Figure 5 is a side view, partially in section, of another embodi¬
ment of the stiffener with cooling passages of the high-density package; and
Figure 6 is a side view, partially in section, of a high-density
package including a plurality of stacked packages.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figure 1 , it
can be seen that a thermally conductive stiffener 10 is provided with a plurality
of areas 12 adapted to mount an integrated circuit package thereon. The
thermally conductive stiffener is shown in the side view in Figure 3, with
integrated circuit chips 20 mounted thereon.
It can be seen that the thermally conductive member 10 has a pair
of opposite sides 11 and 13. In Figure 3, 11 is the bottom side, whereas 13 is
the upper side.
The integrated circuit chips 20 are shown mounted in the
preformed areas 12 on both sides of the member 10. Thus, a plurality of
integrated circuit chips are shown mounted in Figure 3, such chips being
mounted on the pair of opposite sides of the member 10.
The integrated circuit chips 20 may be mounted in the areas 12
by using a high-thermal conductivity paste 16 arranged between one of the
surfaces of the integrated circuit chips 20 and the member 10. The other surface
of each of the integrated circuit chips are connected, in Figure 3, to a flexible
carrier 30.
The carrier 30 is bent around the member 10 so that it faces both
sides of the member 10. The carrier 30 will have an electrically conductive
pattern formed thereon, adapted to connect to the integrated circuit chips 20.
The carrier 30 is connected to the other surfaces of the integrated circuit chips
20 by means of solder bumps 21 in a conventional manner such as controlled-
collapse-chip-connection (C4), wire bond, or thermocompression bond
arrangement.
As noted above, the carrier 30 in Figure 3 is a flexible carrier
so that the arrangement shown in Figure 3 makes connections to all of the
integrated circuit chips 20 mounted on the member 10 utilizing a very small
volume. The carrier 30 may be connected to other carriers or a mother board
by the use of solder balls 22, shown connected to the bottom of the carrier in
Figure 3.
While only a side view of the member 10 is shown in Figure 3,
it can be seen that the member 10 can have a single strip of integrated circuit
mounting areas 12 or, as shown in Figure 2, a member 10' can have a plurality
of columns of mounting areas 12' for mounting integrated circuit chips,
depending on the memory and capacity required.
Similarly, the member 10 is made of a high thermally conductive
material, such as aluminum, copper, or Thermalgraph 8000™ (trademark). The
member 10 in Figure 3 not only serves to provide heat dissipation, it also
serves as a stiffener, so that the high-density package shown in Figure 3 is very
compact and yet provides a stable arrangement for mounting the integrated
circuit chips and providing interconnections thereto. Because the stiffener is
made of a thermally conductive material and a high thermal conductivity paste
is used for attaching one surface of the integrated circuit chips to the stiffener,
heat generated by the operation of the integrated circuit chips is quickly
dissipated into the air circulating about the stiffening member 10. The
stiffening member 10 may also have fins, extensions or heat pipes attached if
desired.
The solder balls 22 may be used to attach the carrier 30 to a
second level, as will be explained subsequently.
Referring now to Figure 4, a different type of carrier is shown.
Here the carrier is formed in two parts 40 and 50. The carrier can be a printed
circuit board made of FR4 material which is a metallic or copper plane
arranged with the appropriate electrical circuit pattern thereon or from other
packaging material such as teflon or ceramic. The electrical connections
between the parts 40 and 50 of the carrier in Figure 4 are made by an integral,
flexible cable 41. The parts of Figure 4 that are the same as the parts of Figure
3 are similarly numbered since the remaining elements of the high-density
package, aside from the carrier, remain the same.
Because the two-part carrier 40 and 50 face the opposite surfaces
of the integrated circuit chips, and the stiffener 10 is made of thermally
conductive material, heat is readily dissipated from the integrated circuit chips
into the environment, even though the high-density package is unusually
compact.
The embodiment of Figure 5 shows a different type of stiffener
member 60. The member 60 is formed with a plurality of channels 61
therethrough in the form of a "cinder block" arrangement. The channels 61 may
have any desirable cross section depending on the application. In this
arrangement, increased heat dissipation surfaces are provided by the stiffener
60. In the embodiment of Figure 5, the elements numbered similarly to that of
Figures 3 and 4 serve similar functions.
With the channels 61 , a higher degree of heat dissipation may be
provided when necessary. It is seen, however, that the member 60 contains
mounting areas 12 for the circuit chips 20, as before. Also, in this figure, a
flexible carrier 30 is used for facing the opposite sides of the stiffener 60 and
the other surfaces of the integrated circuit chips 20.
Referring to Figure 6, an arrangement is shown in which three
carriers 30 are provided to form a multi-stack or multi-level arrangement. Each
of the carriers contains a package of the type shown in Figures 3 or 5. This
arrangement of Figure 6 forms a plurality of high-density packages for the
integrated circuit chips. It can be seen that each carrier is electrically connected
to the carrier adjacent thereto, and the last or bottom carrier in Figure 6 is
connected to a mother board 70 by means of the solder balls 22'. Similar solder
balls or solder bumps are used for connecting the carriers to the adjacent
carriers. Wire bonds may also be used for this purpose.
Thus, a stacked, high-density package for integrated circuit chips
is provided and provides an unusually compact arrangement having very good
thermal conductivity. Each of the three packages shown in Figure 6 has a
thermally conductive stiffener member which is able to dissipate quickly the
heat generated by the integrated circuit chips to the surrounding environment.
This will permit higher memory capacity to be provided in a smaller volume
than previously permitted. Also, since the integrated circuit chips are mounted
on both, opposite sides of the stiffener member, a larger number of integrated
circuit chips may be put into the same sized volume previously used. The
thermal conductivity of the mounting stiffener member permits such an
arrangement.
It is clear that the use of this stiffener serving as heat sink in the
center of the high-density package allows for three-dimensional cooling of the
entire package. As is known, the printed circuit board material, FR4, provides
an organic carrier.
While the integrated circuit chips have been described as utilizing
a high thermal conductivity paste for mounting the bottom surfaces of the
integrated circuit chips to the stiffener member, it is evident that other forms
of mounting may be used which have good thermal conductivity and thermal
dissipation characteristics.
While the present invention has been described with respect to
preferred embodiments, numerous modifications, changes, and improvements
will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope
of the invention.