Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/EP1070350B1/en
Timestamp: 2018-12-15 10:22:55
Document Index: 715537947

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 12', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 36', 'art 12', 'art 36', 'art 12', 'art 36', 'art 36', 'art 36', 'art 12', 'arts 12', 'art 12', 'art 36', 'arts 12', 'art 36', 'art 12', 'art 36', 'art 36', 'art 12', 'art 36']

EP1070350B1 - Integrated circuit package having a thermoelectric cooling element therein - Google Patents
EP1070350B1
EP1070350B1 EP19990914320 EP99914320A EP1070350B1 EP 1070350 B1 EP1070350 B1 EP 1070350B1 EP 19990914320 EP19990914320 EP 19990914320 EP 99914320 A EP99914320 A EP 99914320A EP 1070350 B1 EP1070350 B1 EP 1070350B1
EP19990914320
EP1070350A1 (en )
US 4,279,292 describes a temperature regulator for an integrated circuit, the temperature regulator having a thermoelectric cooler disposed between the integrated circuit and a heat sink, mounted in a cup-shaped insulator, the insulator being mounted on a printed circuit board. Electrical connections from the integrated circuit to the printer circuit board are provided through the cup-shaped insulator.
EP 0 447 020 discloses an integrated circuit package having a cavity containing an integrated circuit that is thermally coupled to a thermoelectric cooler, the thermoelectric cooler being thermally coupled to a heat sink.
JP 4,246,870 discloses the provision of thermoelectric elements composed of P-type and N-type semiconductor materials, wherein the P-type elements have a different cross-sectional shape to the N-type elements.
The present invention may also provide: a package having therein a chamber; an integrated circuit disposed within the chamber in the package; and a plurality of thermoelectric cooling elements disposed within the package, a first group of the thermoelectric cooling elements each having a first cross-sectional shape, and a second group of the thermoelectric cooling elements each having a second cross-sectional shape which is different from the first cross-sectional shape, the second group being mutually exclusive from the first group.
FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic sectional side view of an integrated circuit package which embodies the present invention, the package having therein an integrated circuit and a plurality of thermoelectric cooling elements;
FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1;
FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view similar to FIGURE 2, but showing an alternative embodiment of the package of FIGUREs 1 and 2;
FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic sectional side view similar to FIGURE 1, but showing another alternative embodiment of the package of FIGURE 1; and
FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic sectional side view similar to FIGURE 1, but showing still another alternative embodiment of the package of FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic sectional side view of an integrated circuit package 10 which embodies the present invention. The package 10 includes a platelike integrated circuit support part 12. The part 12 is made of a known ceramic material which is thermally conductive and electrically insulating, such as aluminum oxide (Al2O3) or aluminum nitride (AlN). An integrated circuit 13 is fixedly secured to the upper side of the part 12 by a thin layer 14 of a thermally conductive epoxy or solder. In the disclosed embodiment, the integrated circuit 13 is an infrared detector of known construction, but it will be recognized that the integrated circuit 13 could be some other type of semiconductor device.
The package 10 includes a plurality of electrically conductive leads provided at spaced locations around the integrated circuit 13, one of these leads being identified with reference numeral 17. In FIGURE 1, for reasons of clarity, the relative thickness of the leads 17 is significantly exaggerated. The inner end of each lead 17 is coupled by a respective wirebond to the integrated circuit 13, one of these wirebonds being designated by reference numeral 18.
In FIGURE 1, the horizontal dimension of the frame 22 is such that the frame 22 does not cover the outer ends of the leads 17. However, as shown by a broken line in FIGURE 1, the frame 22 could have a larger horizontal dimension, so that it completely covers the outer end of each of the leads 17.
The package 10 includes a platelike base part 36, which is spaced below and extends approximately parallel to the integrated circuit support part 12. The base part 36 may be made of the same ceramic material as the support part 12. The part 36 has a plurality of via openings 37 extending vertically therethrough. In FIGURE 1, each of the via openings 37 is disposed directly below a respective one of the via openings 28. Each of the via openings 37 is filled with a metal or other conductive material 38. A plurality of electrically conductive metal pads 41 are provided on the upper side of the part 36. Each of the pads 41 is disposed over and electrically engages the upper end of the conductive material 38 in a respective one of the via openings 37. In a similar manner, a plurality of conductive metal pads 42 are provided on the underside of the part 36, and each of the pads 42 is disposed over and electrically engages the lower end of the conductive material 38 in a respective one of the via openings 37. The pads 42 may be used to surface mount the package 10 on a not-illustrated circuit board, in a known manner.
The electrically conductive elements 44 should have a thermal conductivity which is as low as possible. This does not mean that the elements 44 necessarily have no thermal conductivity, but that the cumulative thermal conductivity of all of the elements 44 should be negligible in comparison to the cumulative thermal conductivity of all of the TEC elements 51. A suitable material for the electrically conductive elements 44 is a polyimide thermoplastic which is commercially available under the tradename MELDIN 3000H from Furon Company of Laguna Niguel, California. Another suitable thermoplastic material is commercially available under the tradename SC535 MCS from DuPont Engineering Polymers of Wilmington, Delaware. In order to facilitate soldering of the TEC elements 51 and elements 44 to the pads 32 and 41, the upper and lower ends of the TEC elements 51 and the elements 44 may be subjected, during their manufacture, to thin film deposition, followed by plating of a metal over the deposited thin film.
FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1, and shows one of the elements 44 and five of the TEC elements 51. It will be noted from FIGURE 2 that the element 44 and the TEC elements 51 each have a cross-sectional shape which is a square. Further, the TEC elements include alternating elements of p-type material and n-type material.
FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view similar to FIGURE 2, but showing an alternative embodiment of the package of FIGURES 1 and 2. More specifically, in FIGURE 3, the p-type elements have a first cross-sectional shape, which is a square, the n-type elements have a different cross-sectional shape, which is a parallelogram, and the element 44 has yet another cross-sectional shape, which is a triangle. As a result, the p-type elements and n-type elements can be readily visually distinguished from each other, and the elements 44 can be readily visually distinguished from the TEC elements 51, which facilitates rapid and accurate assembly of the package.
FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic sectional side view which is similar to FIGURE 1, but which shows an integrated circuit package 60 that is an alternative embodiment of the package 10 of FIGURE 1. Parts in FIGURE 4 which are equivalent to parts in FIGURE 1 are identified with the same reference numerals. Only the differences between FIGUREs 1 and 4 are described below in detail.
More specifically, in FIGURE 4, the part 12 has on the upper side thereof a plurality of pads 62, which are each disposed over and in electrical engagement with the conductive material 29 in a respective one of the via openings 28. The wirebonds 18 each extend between the integrated circuit 13 and a respective one of the pads 62. The frame 22 is located outwardly of the pads 62, so that the pads 62 are each disposed within the chamber 24. A further frame 64 is disposed between and is sealingly secured to the parts 12 and 36. The frame 64 may be made of a ceramic material which is thermally insulating. The conductive elements 44 and TEC elements 51 are all disposed within the frame 64.
In FIGURE 4, the window 23, frame 22, support part 12, frame 64 and base part 36 together serve as a housing, which has therein the chamber 24 that contains the integrated circuit 13, and which has therein a separate chamber 66 that is located between the parts 12 and 36 and that contains the conductive elements 44 and the TEC elements 51. The part 36 has therethrough an opening 67, which communicates at its upper end with the chamber 66. The opening 67 is used to remove air and other gases from the chamber 66 during assembly, after which the opening 67 is sealingly filled with a seal material 68. The chamber 24 containing the integrated circuit 13 is also subject to a vacuum which, as discussed above in association with FIGURE 1, is realized by sealing the window 23 to the frame 22 within a room or space that is under a vacuum. The conductive material 29 and 38 in the via openings 28 and 37 completely seals these via openings, in order to maintain the vacuum in each of the chambers 24 and 66.
FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic sectional side view similar to FIGURE 1, but showing an integrated circuit package 80 that is yet another alternative embodiment of the package 10 of FIGURE 1. Equivalent parts are designated with the same reference numerals in FIGURES 1 and 5, and only the differences are described in detail below. With reference to FIGURE 5, the part 12 has on an upper side thereof a plurality of pads 82, which are each disposed over and electrically engage the conductive material 29 in a respective one of the via openings 28. Each of the wirebonds 18 extends between the integrated circuit 13 and a respective one of the pads 82. A frame 84, which may be made of a material such as a metal or ceramic, extends between and sealingly engages peripheral edges of the part 36 and the window 23. The window 23, frame 84 and part 36 serve as a housing which has therein a chamber 86. The structure within the chamber 86 includes the integrated circuit 13, the part 12, the conductive elements 44, and the TEC elements 51. After the housing has been assembled, the opening 67 through the part 36 is used to withdraw air and gases from the chamber 86, in order to place the chamber 86 under a vacuum. Then, the opening 67 is permanently sealed with a seal material 68.
Although several embodiments have been illustrated and described in detail, it should be understood that still other substitutions and alternations, including the rearrangement or reversal of parts, can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims.
a first part (12) which is thermally conductive and electrically insulating;
an integrated circuit (13) supported on one side of said first part;
a second part (36) which is spaced from said first part (12) on a side thereof opposite from said integrated circuit (13), said second part being electrically insulating;
a thermoelectric cooling element (51) which is disposed between said first (12) and second (36) parts and which is thermally coupled to said first part on a side thereof opposite from said integrated circuit (13);
a further element (44) which is electrically conductive, and which is disposed between said first and second parts;
an electrically conductive first arrangement which is operative to electrically couple said integrated circuit (13) to a first end of said further element (44) disposed adjacent said first part (12); and
an electrically conductive second arrangement which is electrically coupled to a second end of said further element (44) disposed adjacent said second part (36);
characterized in that said further element (44) is thermally insulating.
An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second part (36) is thermally conductive, and wherein said thermoelectric cooling element (51) is thermally coupled to said second part.
An apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said first arrangement includes a via opening (28) provided through said first part (12) and an electrically conductive material (29) disposed within said via opening.
An apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2,
wherein said first arrangement includes a via opening (28) provided through said first part (12) and an electrically conductive material (29) disposed within said via opening;
including a housing having a chamber (24;86) therein, said first part (12) being a portion of said housing, and said integrated circuit (13) being disposed within said chamber; and
wherein an end of said via opening (28) nearest said integrated circuit (13) opens through a surface portion of said first part (12) which is disposed within said chamber.
wherein said first arrangement includes a via opening (28) provided through said first part (12) and an electrically conductive material (29) disposed within said via opening; and
including a housing having a chamber (24) therein, said first part (12) being a portion of said housing, said integrated circuit (13) being disposed within said chamber, and an end of said via opening (28) nearest said integrated circuit being disposed externally of said chamber.
An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said first arrangement includes an electrically conductive lead (17) extending from said end of said via opening (28) to a location within said chamber (24), and includes a wirebond (18) extending from said integrated circuit (13) to an end of said lead disposed within said chamber.
wherein said first arrangement includes a first via opening (28) provided through said first part (12) and an electrically conductive material (29) disposed within said first via opening, and includes an electrically conductive first pad (32) which is provided on a side of said first part opposite from said integrated circuit (13) and which is in engagement with said electrically conductive material (29) in said first via opening;
wherein said second arrangement includes a second via opening (37) provided through said second part (36) and an electrically conductive material (38) disposed within said second via opening, and includes an electrically conductive second pad (41) which is disposed on a side of said second part nearest said first part and which is in engagement with said electrically conductive material (38) in said second via opening; and
wherein said further element (44) has first and second ends which are respectively electrically coupled to said first (32) and second (41) pads.
wherein said second arrangement includes an electrically conductive third pad (42) which is provided on a side of said second part (36) opposite from said first part (12) and which is in engagement with said electrically conductive material (38) in each second via opening (37); and
wherein said first arrangement includes an electrically conductive part (17;62;82) which is provided on a side of said first part (12) remote from said further element (44) and which is in engagement with said electrically conductive material (29) in said first via opening (28) and includes a wirebond (18) extending between said integrated circuit (13) and said conductive part.
including a housing having therein a chamber (24;86), at least one of said first and second parts being a portion of said housing, and said integrated circuit (13) being disposed within said chamber, said housing having on a side of said chamber opposite from said integrated circuit a portion (23) which is transparent to infrared radiation; and
wherein said integrated circuit (13) is an infrared radiation detector.
An apparatus according to any preceding claim, including a housing having a chamber (24) therein, said first part (12) being a portion of said housing, said integrated circuit (13) being disposed within said chamber (24), and said thermoelectric cooling element (51) being disposed externally of said chamber (24).
An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said housing has therein a further chamber (66) which is separate from said chamber (24) having said integrated circuit (13) therein, said further chamber (66) having said thermoelectric cooling element (51) therein, and each of said chambers having a vacuum therein.
An apparatus according to any preceding claim, including a plurality of further thermoelectric cooling elements (51) disposed between said first (12) and second (36) parts and thermally coupled to said first part on the side thereof opposite from said integrated circuit (13), wherein a first group of said thermoelectric cooling elements (51) each have a first cross-sectional shape, and wherein a second group of said thermoelectric cooling elements (51) mutually exclusive from said first group each have a second cross-sectional shape which is different from said first cross-sectional shape.
An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said further element (44) has a third cross-sectional shape which is different from each of said first and second cross-sectional shapes.
An apparatus according to claim 1 and further comprising:
a housing having a chamber (24) therein, said housing including on one side of said chamber said first portion, said first portion being plate-like, and having on the other side of said chamber a window portion (23) made of a material which is transparent to infrared radiation;
a plurality of further thermoelectric cooling elements (51) which are disposed between said first and second portions and which are thermally coupled to each of said first and second portions;
said integrated circuit (13) is supported within said chamber on said first portion, said integrated circuit being an infrared radiation detector;
said second portion is plate-like and is thermally conductive;
said first arrangement includes a first via opening provided through said first part and an electrically conductive material disposed within said first via opening; and
said second arrangement includes a second via opening provided through said second part and an electrically conductive material disposed within said second via opening.
wherein said second portion (36) is a part of said housing;
wherein said housing has therein a further chamber (66) which is disposed between said first and second portions and which is isolated from said chamber containing said integrated circuit, said thermoelectric cooling elements (51) being disposed within said further chamber; and
wherein each of said chambers (24,66) is subject to a vacuum.
An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising:
a package (10;60;80) having therein a chamber (24;86), and having first and second electrically conductive terminals on an outer side thereof;
said integrated circuit (13) being disposed within said chamber in said package;
a plurality of further thermoelectric cooling elements (51) disposed within said package, a first group of said thermoelectric cooling elements each having a first cross-sectional shape, and a second group of said thermoelectric cooling elements mutually exclusive from said first group each having a second cross-sectional shape which is different from said first cross-sectional shape, said elements of said first and second groups being respectively made of first and second types of material which are different; and
electrical conductors (47,48) electrically coupling said thermoelectric cooling elements between said first and second terminals so that current flowing from said first terminal to said second terminal passes through said thermoelectric cooling elements.
An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said first and second cross-sectional shapes are each a respective one of a square, a rectangle, a parallelogram and a triangle.
An apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the thermal conductivity of said further element (44) is negligible in comparison to the cumulative thermal conductivity of all of said thermoelectric cooling elements (51).
EP19990914320 1998-04-01 1999-03-31 Integrated circuit package having a thermoelectric cooling element therein Expired - Fee Related EP1070350B1 (en)
US09053573 US6043982A (en) 1998-04-01 1998-04-01 Integrated circuit package having a thermoelectric cooling element therein
US53573 1998-04-01
EP1070350A1 true EP1070350A1 (en) 2001-01-24
EP1070350B1 true EP1070350B1 (en) 2003-09-17
EP19990914320 Expired - Fee Related EP1070350B1 (en) 1998-04-01 1999-03-31 Integrated circuit package having a thermoelectric cooling element therein
EP1070350A1 (en) 2001-01-24 application
US6043982A (en) 2000-03-28 grant
JP2002510864A (en) 2002-04-09 application
WO1999050910A1 (en) 1999-10-07 application
DE69911390D1 (en) 2003-10-23 grant
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