Integrated thermal analysis in TCM design

The author reviews the benefits of having an integrated analysis in the design process. He then reviews an application of integrated thermal analysis and checking against design specifications for TCMs (thermal conduction modules). IBM uses an integrated design and checking system to design TCMs. Designers have some early thermal analysis tools so that thermal problems can be identified and resolved early in the design process. Once the designer has a chip design layout for a module, an integrated design system is used to design the package and verify that the design meets electrical and thermal specifications. For the thermal portion, models are in place ahead of time with all design-independent variables hard coded. The parameters for the design are passed to the model for a statistical analysis. For packages where thermal performance changes with time, beginning of life (BOL) and end of life (EOL) analyses are performed. The design nominal and statistical chip temperatures are then compared to specifications to ensure that device temperatures will be within specification for the life of the product