Standardized, Scalable Approach to Electronic Packaging and Thermal Management

MCM's are common approach to smaller, faster electronics, such as will be required in future space applications. To reduce costs and speed development of MCM-based systems, Cray Research, Inc. has been developing standardized, scalable electronic packaging, suitable for uses ranging from workstations to supercomputers. This optimized packaging provides a standardized design for DC-DC power conversion/distribution, interconnection and thermal management. Merix Corporation has been working with Cray to develop a standardized, flat plate heat pipe to handle the thermal managment of the package. In this program, Merix will evaluate the use of Cray's standardized MCM packaging, with heat pipes for thermal management, for the cooling of spacecraft electronics.| Benefits: A standardized, scalable, generally applicable packaging for MCM's will make future generations of MCM-based architectures lighter and more compact, more reliable, with less maintenance and longer mean-time-to-failure, easier to assemble and less expensive. Designers will not have to resolve problems of power distribution, interconnection and thermal management.|