Thermal interface material containment

A bare circuit integrated circuit package, comprising:

• a substrate connected to a printed circuit board;
• an integrated circuit connected to the substrate, the integrated circuit having a top;
• a stiffener ring attached to the substrate, the stiffener ring surrounding the integrated circuit;
• a heat sink having a bottom surface that is positioned on the stiffener ring and over the integrated circuit such that there is a space between the top of the integrated circuit and the bottom surface of the heat sink, the heat sink connected to the printed circuit board;
• a thermal interface material, the thermal interface material having an uncompressed volume and a compressed volume, the compressed volume being a volume of the thermal interface material compressed in the space between the top of the integrated circuit and the bottom surface of the heat sink to thermally connect the integrated circuit and the heat sink;
• and
• a containment ring having a first wall and a second wall positioned between the stiffener ring and the integrated circuit, the containment ring sized and positioned such that a gap between the first wall of the containment ring and the integrated circuit has a volume of air of between zero percent and thirty percent smaller than the compressed volume of the thermal interface material.