Affordable, High Performance Composites

This project will develop a chip package that can be tailored to match the thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE) of semiconductor chips and has an order of magnitude higher thermal conductivity than conventional ceramic packaging materials. The Phase I project will focus on selection and development of composite materials that can be used for packages as well as generating a design of a package that uses the new materials. Various combinations of fiber and matrix materials will be analyzed, fabricated and tested to develop a material property data base. A material will be selected for further evaluation and a prototype brassboard demonstrator will be fabricated. Development of this new semiconductor package material will provide a replacement for ceramic packages (such as A1203) that are lighter in weight, better match the TCE of the silicon ships, and are better at dissipating waste heat. The heat dissipation improvement should lead to lower component temperatures and higher reliability of the semiconductor components.