INTEGRAL CIRCUIT PANEL/FRAME/HEAT SINK

COOLING OF ELECTRONICS IS A CRITICAL FACTOR IN THE DESIGN OF NAVAL AVIONICS, ESPECIALLY IN INTEGRATED RACK ELECTRONICS. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THERMAL MISMATCH BETWEEN FRAME (USUALLY ALUMINUM) AND BOARD (OFTEN CERAMIC) REQUIRE THE USE OF THICK DHESIVE BONDS WHICH INTRODUCES HIGH THERMAL RESISTANCE IN THE PATH OF THE HEAT FLOW. FOSTER-MILLER PROPOSES A NOVEL APPROACH TO CREATING A HIGH THERMAL DISSIPATION, HIGHLY RELIABLE INTEGRAL CIRCUIT PANEL/FRAME/ HEAT SINK. THE APPROACH COMBINES FOUR NEWLY EMERGED TECHNOLOGIES: 1. GROWTH OF CVD DIAMOND FILMS; 2. ACTIVE ALLOY BRAZING OF DIAMOND; 3. METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES WITH TAILORED PROPERTIES; 4. MULTICHIP THIN-FILM PACKAGING. IN PHASE I, CVD DIAMOND THIN FILMS WILL BE DEPOSITED ONTO A SILICON WAFER PRIOR TO DOPING. THE DIAMOND FILM PROVIDES BOTH ELECTRICAL ISOLATION AND EXCELLENT HEAT TRANSFER. COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE, CROSSPLIED (0/90) GR/AL COMPOSITES WITH TAILORED PROPERTIES HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS FRAME MATERIAL. THE DIAMOND-COTED SILICON WILL BE JOINED TO THE GR/AL WITH AN INNOVATIVE TWO-COMPONENT BRAZING ALLOY FORMULATED TO WET AND STRONGLY BOND TO DIAMOND. THE HEAT TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHIP-FRAME-HEAT SINK CONSTRUCTION WILL BE DETERMINED, AS WELL AS ITS MECHANICAL INTEGRITY BY MICROSCOPIC AND HOLOGRAPHIC NDT.