Evaluation of Si liquid cooling structure with microchannel and TSV for 3D application

Abstract

The development of 3D integration has caused a major technology paradigm shift to all integrated circuit (IC) devices, interconnects, and packages. Despite the benefits of 3D integration, this process faces the key challenge of thermal management, especially for high power and high density IC devices. Due to the limitations of conventional thermal solutions, liquid cooling technology has become a field of great interest for IC thermal management. In this study, an on-chip liquid cooling module with three different through Si vias (TSVs) and a fixed microchannel structure has been fabricated on an Si wafer using deep reactive ion etching and anodic bonding, followed by a grinding and dicing process. Pressure drop, coolant flow, and temperature difference before and after liquid flow were experimentally measured. TSV depth and diameter have been shown to have little effect on the change of pressure drop; however, shallower TSV depth and larger TSV diameter led to improved liquid cooling performance. The trapezoidal TSV showed slightly more effective cooling than did the scalloped TSV or the straight TSV.