S-Contact Thermal Structure with Active Circuitry
AssigneepSemi Corporation
InventorsTero Tapio Ranta, Simon Edward Willard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An integrated circuit architecture that provides a path having relatively low thermal resistance between one or more electronic devices and one or more thermal structures formed on an insulator layer on a substrate. Independent parallel thermal conduction paths are provided through the insulator layer, such as a buried oxide (“BOX”) layer, to allow heat to flow from the substrate layer to a collector column having a portion in common with a thermal structure disposed upon the BOX layer. In some cases, the substrate is a silicon substrate layer supporting the thermal structure and the collector column and a heat source, such as an electronic device (e.g., power amplifier, transistor, diode, resistor, etc.).
Claims34
A semiconductor device comprising:
- (a) a substrate;
- (b) an insulator layer on the substrate;
- (c) a thermal structure on the insulator layer having a plurality of layers of material stacked one upon the other to form the thermal structure between the insulating layer and a heat sink, the thermal structure having a first portion and a second portion, each of the layers of the second portion formed on the same layer as one of the layers of the first portion;
- (d) a collector column having a plurality of layers of material stacked one upon the other to form the collector column between the insulating layer, the collector column having at least a first portion and a second portion, each of the layers of the second portion is formed on the same layer as one of the layers of the first portion and the first portion of the collector column in common with the first portion of the thermal structure, the second portion of the collector column extending beyond the thermal structure;
- and
- (e) a plurality of substrate contacts (“S-contacts”) penetrating the insulator layer to thermally connect the substrate with the collector column.
A method for forming a semiconductor device, including:
- (a) providing a substrate;
- (b) forming an insulator layer on the substrate;
- (c) forming a thermal structure on the insulator layer, the thermal structure having a plurality of layers of material stacked one upon the other to form the thermal structure between the insulating layer and a heat sink, the thermal structure having a first portion and a second portion, each of the layers of the second portion formed on the same layer as one of the layers of the first portion;
- (d) forming a collector column having a plurality of layers of material stacked one upon the other to form the collector column between the insulating layer, the collector column having a first portion and a second portion, each of the layers of the second portion is formed on the same layer as one of the layers of the first portion and the first portion of the collector column in common with the first portion of the thermal structure;
- and
- (e) forming a plurality of S-contacts penetrating the insulator layer to thermally connect the substrate with the collector column and spaced over an area that underlies the collector column.
An RF mobile device having a semiconductor device comprising:
- (a) a substrate;
- (b) an insulator layer on the substrate;
- (c) a thermal structure on the insulator layer having a plurality of layers of material stacked one upon the other to form the thermal structure between the insulating layer and a heat sink, the thermal structure having a first portion and a second portion, each of the layers of the second portion formed on the same layer as one of the layers of the first portion;
- (d) a collector column having a plurality of layers of material stacked one upon the other to form the collector column between the insulating layer, the collector column having at least a first portion and a second portion, each of the layers of the second portion is formed on the same layer as one of the layers of the first portion and the first portion of the collector column in common with the first portion of the thermal structure;
- and
- (e) a plurality of substrate contacts (“S-contacts”) penetrating the insulator layer to thermally connect the substrate with the collector column and spaced over an area that underlies the collector column.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.