MEMS heat pumps for integrated circuit heat dissipation
AssigneeMicron Technology, Inc.
InventorVenkateshwaran Vaiyapuri
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Abstract
A cooling mechanism within an integrated circuit includes an internal pump for circulating thermally conductive fluid within closed loop channels. The cooling channels are embedded within an integrated circuit die, such as in interlevel dielectric layers between metal levels. The channels are formed by engineering deposition of a layer to line trenches and form continuous voids along the trenches. Exemplary heat pumps comprise cavities, formed in communication with the channels, covered by piezoelectric actuators. Preferably, the actuators are wired to act in sequence as a peristaltic pump, circulating the fluid within the channels. The channels are positioned to carry heat from active devices within the integrated circuit, and a heat sink carries heat from the die.
Claims10
An integrated circuit with embedded cooling channels, comprising:
- a structural layer overlying integrated transistors in a semiconductor substrate, the structural layer having trenches formed therein;
- a deposited layer coating surfaces of the trenches and sealing upper openings of the trenches, the deposited layer surrounding a continuous air gap extending longitudinally along the trenches;
- at least one cavity in communication with the air gap, the cavity housing a fluid pump comprising a piezoelectric actuator partially defining and sealing the cavity;
- and a fluid disposed within the air gap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.