Application of computational fluid dynamics simulation tools for thermal characterization of electronic packages

PurposeIn the semiconductor electronics industry, effective heat removal from the integrated circuits (IC) chip, through the electronic package to the environment is crucial to maintain an allowable junction temperature of the IC chip. Thermal performances of such electronic packages are characterized by package thermal resistance called θ‐JA and are widely used in the electronic industry. Improving thermal performance is numerically predicted using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique and experimental tests are carried out to verify the numerical predictions. To provide new/additional data and demonstrate CFD technique for thermal characterization of electronic packages with experimental results.Design/methodology/approachThe thermal performance of electronic packages has been studied using a CFD technique. The finite volume method is a technique used for solving a set of partial differential equations in a domain, using control volume based discretization. A detailed thermal model of an electronic package was created using a CFD tool and validated against the experimental data obtained in a natural convection environment, compliant to JEDEC standards. The thermal performance of the package was evaluated for different die sizes and epoxy molding compounds at different power levels. The use of a heat slug was investigated to identify its effect on heat dissipation for the future generations of IC, which are expected to be smaller in size and to dissipate more power. Free convective flow velocities, detailed temperature and heat flow distributions around the package will also be presented.FindingsThe study demonstrates that applying CFD techniques can provide accurate results on estimating thermal characterization of an electronic package. Predicted device junction temperatures as well as the thermal resistance of packages can be predicted with a good accuracy for different ranges of power levels in natural convection. The numerically estimated die junction temperatures have also been found to be accurate and reliable.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis is limited to an incompressible fluid. The effect of forced convection is not considered.Practical implicationsNew and additional generated data will be helpful in the design and decision making time of the product to choose a low cost and viable thermal performance solution in the cooling of electronic components at low power.Originality/valueThe electronic package involves multi‐material and applying CFD technique is useful to determine the accurate thermal performance and simple and fast to apply for different conditions/material sets. Predictions of junction‐to‐ambient thermal resistance and device junction temperature values are compared against measurements. Excellent correlation was obtained. The results thus obtained compare well with the experimental results, but the computational effort and time required in the analysis is much small as compared.