SBIR Phase I: Microscale Thermal Management in Pulsed Semiconductor Devices

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将展示一种新颖的微型热管理概念，用于消除脉冲半导体器件有源区产生的废热。在这些器件中，每个占空比由几微秒量级的发热脉冲周期和大约100微秒的非活动周期组成。持续的热循环和较高的结温会导致热应力，导致器件疲劳，最终导致寿命降低。该项目提出了一种创新的微尺度热管理设计，可以实现峰值结温降低20%，功耗提高50%，温度尖峰降低。第一阶段的工作将包括在GaN器件中制造和集成拟议的冷却概念，然后测试热和电性能。该设计具有可扩展性，可应用于不同半导体材料的器件。由于性能、可靠性和寿命的提高，器件的总体成本将降低，而器件设计的变化最小。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力旨在满足电子行业对更小封装的更高性能的日益增长的需求。例如，最先进的脉冲GaN基器件通常工作在其电可达到的功率密度的十分之一，以便保持在最高允许结温范围内。换句话说，热管理是实现器件的瓶颈吗？充分发挥性能潜力。这项拟议的技术将涉及三个科学领域：热、电气和机械，以提高最先进的高功率密度射频设备的可靠性和性能，这些设备用于驱动无线和宽带通信的应用。这项技术有可能推动脉冲功率器件和高压开关达到新的性能高度，从而为这些设备带来新的有利可图的市场。在大型数据中心计算机服务器设备中，该技术有可能显著降低冷却所需的能源消耗，从而将对环境的不利影响降至最低。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project will demonstrate a novel micro-scale thermal management concept for removing waste heat generated in the active regions of a pulsed semiconductor device. In these devices, each duty cycle consists of a period of heat generating pulse on the order of a few microseconds followed by an inactive period of about 100 microseconds. The continuous thermal cycling and high junction temperature cause thermal stresses leading to device fatigue and ultimately, reduction in life. An innovative micro-scale thermal management design is proposed in the project that can achieve 20% reduction in peak junction temperature, 50% improvement in power dissipation, and reduced temperature spike. The Phase 1 effort will involve fabrication and integration of the proposed cooling concept in GaN devices followed by testing the thermal and electrical performance. This design is scalable and can be applied to different semiconductor material based devices. The overall cost of the device will decrease due to the improved performance, reliability and life span with minimal changes in the device design.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is geared towards addressing the increasing demands of the electronics industry for higher performance in smaller packages. For example, the state-of-the-art pulsed GaN-based devices typically operate at one-tenth of their electrically achievable power densities in order to stay within the maximum allowable junction temperature. In other words, thermal management is the bottleneck to achieving the devices? full performance potential. The proposed technology will tackle three scientific areas: thermal, electrical and mechanical, to increase the reliability and performance of state-of-the-art high power density RF devices used in applications that drive wireless and broadband communications. This technology has the potential to be a driving force for pulsed power devices and high voltage switches to reach new performance heights, consequently leading to new lucrative markets for these devices. In large datacenter computer server equipment, the technology has the potential to significantly reduce the energy consumption required for cooling and therefore minimize the adverse impact on the environment.