Geometrical optimization of boron arsenide inserts embedded in a heat spreader to improve its cooling performance for three dimensional integrated circuits

Abstract

This investigation is aimed at the design and optimization of boron arsenide insert structures embedded in the heat spreader of a 3-D Integrated Circuit (IC). The inserts are distributed in three main configurations: radial, one level of pairing, and two levels of pairing. The considered heat spreader is constituted of a composite of copper and highly conductive blades made of boron arsenide with high thermal conductivity. The structures corresponding to the lowest maximum temperature of the 3-D IC while the ratio of the boron arsenide volume to the whole heat spreader volume is fixed, are established. Four different boundary conditions are examined to seek their impact on the optimal configuration of the inserts. The results show that for the constant temperature, variable temperature, convection heat transfer boundary conditions at optimal conditions, the maximum temperature of the whole structure (the structures have not been defined) can be reduced by 13.7%, 11.9%, and 13.9%, respectively; while the size of the plain heat spreader (without HCI) was 200% larger than the recommended HCI embedded one.