Thermal enhancement of IC packages

Plastic package thermal enhancement techniques that improve the heat dissipating capabilities of the packages are available to IC package design engineers. Evaluations of these techniques have been performed using test structure measurements and thermal FEA modeling. The techniques studied include the use of additional metal traces on the PCB to spread the heat away from the package, the use of heat slugs and heat spreaders inside the package to enhance heat transfer to the package leads and package body, and the use of high thermal conductivity mold compounds to improve thermal performance. Package types ranged from 8 pin SOIC's to 208 PQFP's with a broad range of chip sizes. Details of the measurement and modeling techniques are given with comparison of the models to the experimental results in many instances.<>