Semiconductor packaging: Challenges and solutions to thermal management

11 Apr 2023 --- Packaging technologies for thermal management are essential to maintaining the lifespan and efficacy of semiconductors, according to a new technical paper by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the US Naval Research Laboratory, and the University of Lyon, France.

Semiconductors, also called microchips, control the flow of electric current between equipment and devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, smart appliances and vehicles. 

Semiconductors generate heat during operation, and excessive heat can degrade their performance and reliability. Semiconductor packages incorporate heat sinks, heat spreaders, and other thermal management solutions to dissipate the heat and maintain the device at optimal temperatures.

The technical paper, titled: “Thermal management and packaging of wide and ultra-wide bandgap power devices: a review and perspective,” gives an overview of thermal management for wide-bandgap (WBG) and ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors, which allow for a smaller chip size, lower loss and higher frequency compared with silicon counterparts, enabling a higher system efficiency and smaller form.

The semiconductor market is currently valued at over US$500 billion.State-of-the-art tech 
While WBG packaging has been researched for years, emerging UWBG technologies also reached a milestone very recently, say the researchers. 

“This article attempts to build on a material–device–holistic package viewpoint that is closely tied to power electronics applications and discusses common challenges for the thermal management of UWBG devices.” 

“To this end, we place a particular emphasis on the state-of-the-art of packaged devices and provide the perspectives both on the device- and package-level thermal management of UWBG devices.” 

Thermal management and packaging of UWBG power devices are still in their infancy and face new challenges that need to be present in other semiconductor devices and packages, the paper explains. 

New opportunities 
UWBG power devices offer “a unique opportunity” to operate at very high temperatures, but the lack of packages operational in such conditions has become a critical roadblock, say the researchers. 

“The solutions to these challenges require a new level of device–package, electrothermal co-design. Additionally, breakthroughs in high-temperature, high-voltage packaging technologies are highly desirable for expanding the application space of UWBG power electronics.”

“Exciting research in this area will greatly accelerate the development and deployment of UWBG power devices, and could make a revolutionary change in the landscape of power electronics.”

The semiconductor industry has witnessed massive growth over the past few decades, with continuous advancements in technology, increasing demand for electronic devices, and the proliferation of IoT and AI. 

According to a report by Grand View Research, the global semiconductor market was valued at US$526.2 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach US$803.9 billion by 2028. 

Edited by Louis Gore-Langton