Thermal Innovations for a Cool World
Semiconductor Thermal Measurement, Modeling and Management Symposium
T W E N T Y - N I N T H
A N N U A L
TOPIC CHAMPION
March 17-21, 2013
DoubleTree Hotel, San Jose, CA, USA
Special sessions are proposed on the topics listed below. Each session will include invited presentations that will offer
either an in-depth presentation on the topic or an industry vision (key thermal technical issues, history and future views,
and/or some market insight). Please contact the session organizer if you have speaker ideas for the following topics.
Special session on Fundamental Heat Transfer (Theory)
The 2013 SEMI-THERM conference will include a special session to present fundamentals of heat transfer applied to electronics
thermal management, focusing on component and circuit board level applications. Topical areas include conduction heat transfer
(e.g, heat spreading, nanoscale phenomena), enhanced convection heat transfer (e.g., extended surfaces, textured surfaces), mixed
convection heat transfer, turbulent heat transfer, phase change heat transfer (e.g., boiling, condensation, evaporation), thermal
interface heat transfer, radiation heat transfer, and heat transfer as part of multiphysics phenomena (e.g., thermo-mechanical,
electrohydrodynamics). Both application-specific studies and review papers are welcome. Applications of interest include but are not
limited to integrated circuit cooling, air- and liquid cooled devices, heat pipes, microscale devices, leading-edge packaging
technologies. Apart from thermal and hydraulic performance modeling, analysis of energy efficiency (e.g., entropy generation
minimization, exergy) is also of interest.
Session Organizer: Valerie Eveloy, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Petroleum Institute,
Abu Dhabi, veveloy@pi.ac.ae, (+971) 2 607 5533
Special session on Fundamental Heat Transfer (Measurement Methods)
Ever increasing power densities and decreasing feature sizes have continued to drive up the cost and complexity of thermal
management inmicroelectronic devices and systems. In addition to performance and size, design complexity and the use of novel
materials have made analysis more challenging. Understanding thermal behavior is essential and no knowledge is more valuable
than that of temperature, the primary variable in heat transfer. Measurement approaches for temperature and thermal properties have
had to evolve in order to keep up with the above advances and their associated complications, but limitations of scales and access
remain. This session invites participants to address the thermal metrological needs of the microelectronics field, including the
characterization of the thermal properties of thin-film materials and the temperature of microscale features, both accessible and
embedded. Authors are encouraged to consider helping identify the measurement needs on the semiconductor roadmap and present
applicable measurement techniques and instructive results.
Session Organizer: Peter Raad, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, SMU, Dallas, Texas, and Founder, TMX
Scientific, Dallas, TX, praad@smu.edu, (+1) 214 768 3043
Special session on Special Materials
A wide variety of packaging materials are used in designing and deploying semiconductors across the spectrum of electronics
systems, ranging from organic compounds used as thermal interface materials to rigid composites and metal alloys for package
stiffeners and heat spreaders, and solders and related materials for mechanical joining and electrical connection. Enhanced thermal
conductivity, reduced thermal resistance, altered rheology to improve dispensing, modifications to improve reliability, and similar
advancements serve to improve overall semiconductor operation, life, and reliability. This session topic is intended to provide a
forum to address how advancements in research are demonstrating progress towards these goals with a strong emphasis on
packaging materials that address significant thermal performance enhancement.
Session Organizer: Dave Saums, Principal at DS&A LLC, Amesbury MA, dsaums@dsa-thermal.com, (+1) 978 499 4990
Special session on Harsh Environment Electronics
The 2013 SEMI-THERM conference will include a special session to explore the particular challenges in the thermal management of
electronics used in Harsh Environments. These applications include areas such as defense and aerospace equipment, under-hood
automotive and other transportation systems, outdoor equipment such as lighting, electric and hybrid vehicles, extreme environments
such as undersea, down-hole drilling, spacecraft, etc.
Topics of particular interest include system level cooling in high ambient
temperatures and/or low pressures; integrated designs to address thermal management as well as severe environmental effects such
as corrosive environments, extreme pressures, high shock/vibration, etc.; novel component and device designs for robust
performance; case studies on harsh environment electronics design/testing; developing research on novel thermal management
technologies with potential for implementation on next generation systems.
Session Organizer: Ross Wilcoxon, Principal at Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids IA, rkwilcox@rockwellcollins.com,
(+1) 319-295-7139
Special session on LED and Photonic Devices
Photonic devices including LEDs are becoming more and more critical to our everyday life. These devices are often overlooked in the
field of electronics thermal management but often are the most challenging to cool. In this session we will look at the latest
applications and advances in these devices and what that means to us in the thermal management field. We will look into new
materials for the devises themselves and new materials for packaging these devices.
Session Organizer: Andras Poppe, Principal at Mentor-Micred and BME, Budapest, Hungary, Andras_Poppe@mentor.com
Special session 3D packaging
3D packaging is gaining a lot of momentum to be the next generation packaging solution for electronic industry due to smaller foot
print and shorter interconnects between multiple devices. In addition, partitioning a large chip into multiple smaller chips with 3D
stacking can improve yield and the fabrication cost. 3D stacking uses TSVs to reduce the wire length. Due to the complexity of 3D
packaging, the thermal characterization of the package becomes more challenging than the standard single or multi-chip packages.
In this 3D session, the papers will cover both thermal measurement and modeling of 3D packages with TSVs to characterize both
steady-state and temporal thermal characteristics of the packages and will discuss measurement and modeling challenges.
Session Organizer: Attila Aranyosi, Juniper, aaranyosi@juniper.net