THERMAL MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES WITH DIAMOND COMPOSITE CERAMICS

THE EVOLUTION OF ELECTRONICS SYSTEMS TO SMALLER, HIGHER DENSITY PACKAGES PLACES ENORMOUS DEMANDS ON HEAT REMOVAL CAPABILITY. A LARGE INCREASE IN THE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF PACKAGING MATERIALS WOULD ENABLE MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS TO THERMAL MANAGEMENT OF THESE ADVANCED ELECTRONICS PACKAGES. CRYSTALLUME'S DIAMOND CERAMIC MATERIAL IS CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING MOST OF THE ADVANTAGES OF SINGLE CRYSTAL DIAMOND IN COST-EFFECTIVE NET SHAPE PACKAGES AND THEREFORE PRESENTS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO ACHIEVE SUCH A BREAKTHROUGH. THIS PROPOSAL DESCRIBES THE EFFORT REQUIRED TO USE DIAMOND CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY TO PRODUCE CIRCUIT BOARDS FOR WAFER SCALE INTEGRATION HAVING THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY NEARLY EQUAL TO THAT OF NATURAL DIAMOND (I.E. 4 TO 5 TIMES THAT OF COPPER). THE GOAL OF PHASE I IS TO PRODUCE DIAMOND CERAMIC FOR USE AS CIRCUIT BOARDS WITH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENTS OF 15 TO 20 W/CMC. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY MICROSTRUCTURE OPTIMIZATION OF THE CERAMIC BODY TO ACHIEVE FULL DENSITY THROUGH THE APPROPRIATE SELECTION OF STARTING DIAMOND POWDER SIZES AND THE INCLUSION OF NUCLEATION ENHANCERS. NET-SHAPE FORMATION WILL BE ACHIEVED BY DEVELOPMENT OF A GAS FLOW-THROUGH METHOD WHICH EXPLOITS CHEMICAL VAPOR INFILTRATION CONCEPTS TO FORM FULLY DENSE SUBSTRATES. TO PROPERLY GAUGE THE PROGRESS OF THE PROPOSED WORK, THE SAMPLES WILL UNDERGO TESTS OF THERMAL PROPERTIES TO BE MEASURED AGAINST ASSUMED LOADINGS AND CONFIGURATIONS.