Temperature Distribution Sensor for Real-Time Monitoring of Thermal Interface Material

Abstract

Effective thermal management is crucial for state-of-the-art semiconductor devices as power consumption continues to rise. A key challenge lies in enhancing the performance of thermal interface materials (TIMs), which contribute the highest thermal resistance in heat dissipation pathways. This study proposes a contact-type, 2-D thin-film temperature distribution sensor design for real-time TIM performance monitoring. Its thin-film configuration enables direct implementation into TIM layers or heat sink structures, ensuring compatibility with typical cooling solutions. The sensor was designed to integrate thermocouples (TCs) and metal-oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) in a cross-point-switching circuit configuration. This configuration minimizes wiring complexity, which is advantageous for high-speed data acquisition, suppresses leakage currents, and maintains the linearity of thermoelectric voltage outputs. Considering the sensor manufacturing process, materials with high thermal conductivity were tested to achieve compatibility with both effective heat dissipation design and temperature sensing capability. To validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed design, equivalent circuit simulations were performed, and finite element method (FEM)-based approaches were also adopted to analyze electrical, thermal, and structural properties. The simulation results demonstrated the potential of this sensor design to effectively detect thermal conduction losses caused by contact failure, aging, and void formation within TIM layers. As semiconductor technology advances, this sensor will play a crucial role in improving thermal management by providing precise, real-time evaluations of TIM performance, enabling predictive maintenance, and optimizing next-generation heat dissipation designs.