Rethinking Thermal Design Priorities in Electronics Packaging

Steady state operating temperature is a critical design parameter for ensuring the reliable operation of modern electronics systems. However, in practice it is but one of many factors that impact overall system health and performance. Modern challenges, like the large transient power draw associated with artificial intelligence (AI) workloads create the potential for more discontinuous failures that occur when these spikes damage sensitive components [1]. Likewise, the temperature-dependent warpage of modern highperformance compute and AI chip architectures cause stochastic voiding and nonuniformity in thermal interface material (TIM) bond line thickness that degrades efficiency and reliable operation [2]. These new paradigms create an urgent need to rethink thermal design priorities and consider new solutions that enable the industry to achieve performance and cost goals.