Honeywell adds Polymer Research & Development Team to Address Semiconductor Thermal Management Challenges

20-Jul-2007

Honeywell Electronic Materials has expanded its research and development capabilities in the area of thermal management and related areas with the addition of a new team of advanced polymer chemists.

The team, based at Honeywell Electronic Materials' research center in Sunnyvale, Calif., will work to apply advancements in polymer science to address the challenges posed by the tremendous heat generated from increasingly powerful, yet smaller, semiconductors.

Honeywell Electronic Materials is a recognized leader in developing solutions for thermal management, a major focus area for the semiconductor industry because smaller, more powerful chips produce a tremendous of heat. Transferring and dissipating that heat is critical to ensuring chip performance and preventing failure.

Advanced polymer applications are increasingly being explored and used to address thermal management, especially in the area of thermal interface materials, or TIMs. An example of TIMs are Honeywell's phase change materials, which change from a solid to a semi-liquid state in order to fill the micro-gaps present between the different surfaces of the chip and chip package. Phase change materials were developed through polymer science, delivering a material that suspends metals in a polymer matrix.

Besides thermal management, the new polymer team will develop other polymers and materials for next-generation packaging applications including silicone chemistries and materials for burn-in processing. Burn-in is a test step where chips are exposed to temperature cycling and data is collected around reliability and potential failure. Additionally, the team will explore applications for 3D packaging and wafer-level packaging, two new packaging methods which are being employed by semiconductor manufacturers.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/66390/honeywell-adds-polymer-research-development-team-to-address-semiconductor-thermal-management-challenges.html