On-chip hotspot thermal delay and peak clipping using a heterogeneously integrated micro-thermoelectric cooler

Micro-thermoelectric coolers have emerged as a promising solution for on-chip dynamic thermal management due to their ability to provide localized, on-demand cooling. However, their practical implementation faces several challenges, including packaging integration, parasitic thermal resistance, and proper pulse current control. In this work, we characterize the performance of on-chip dynamic thermal management using a micro-thermoelectric cooler integrated into a thermal test vehicle within a flip-chip ball grid array package. We propose two dynamic thermal management strategies to investigate the time delay and peak clipping performance of hotspot temperature. Experimental results demonstrate that simultaneously activating the micro-TEC and the chip significantly enhances the performance of dynamic thermal management. Transient Peltier cooling immediately reduces the hotspot temperature by 10 °C below the ambient temperature under varying hotspot heat fluxes (150, 200, and 250 W/cm²). At a hotspot heat flux of 250 W/cm², the micro-thermoelectric cooler consumes only 20 % of the chip power consumption while achieving an 8.24 s time delay and a 20.64 °C post-pulse temperature reduction using the time delay strategy. The peak clipping strategy consumes 80 % of the chip power consumption, resulting in a peak temperature reduction of 21.48 °C and a post-pulse temperature reduction of 20.79 °C.