Apple Inc.

Advanced Micro Devices Corporation

Ati Technologies Ulc

Seagate Technology Incorporated

Yizhang Yang

Jun Zhai

Gamal Refai-Ahmed

Maxat Touzelbaev

Norman Jay Rohrer

Bryan Black

Chih-Ming Chung

Liang Deng

Arpit Mittal

Jie-Hua Zhao

Kaizhong Gao

Haiwen Xi

Song Sheng Xue

Doron Rajwan

Keith Alan Cox

Shawn Searles

Michael Zhouying Su

Toshinari Takayanagi

Tal Kuzi

Mengzhi Pang

Joseph T DiBene, Ii

David P Cappabianca

Le Wang

Yiming Shi

Paul McCloskey

Sean Cian O'Mathuna

Zoran Pavlovic

Jun Ouyang

Santosh Kulkarni

William Lawton

Graeme Maxwell

Joseph O'Brien

Hugh Charles Smiddy

In an embodiment, a memory controller in an integrated circuit may generate refreshes for one or more DRAMs coupled to the integrated circuit according to a refresh rate. The integrated circuit may include one or more temperature sensors. A rate of change of the temperature may be determined from the temperature sensors. If the rate is greater than a threshold, the memory controller may generate refreshes according to a refresh rate specified by the DRAMs. If the rate is less than the threshold, the memory controller may generate refreshes at a reduced refresh rate.

Dynamic refresh rate control

A temperature control apparatus is disclosed. An integrated circuit (IC) includes a plurality of temperature sensors, a first thermal control loop, and a second thermal control loop. The first thermal control loop is configured to control temperature of the IC by reducing a frequency of a clock signal provided to the IC in response to a temperature at one of the plurality of temperature sensors reaching a first temperature threshold. The second thermal control loop is configured to control temperature of the IC by dithering the clock signal provided to the IC in response to a temperature at one of the plurality of temperature sensors reaching a second temperature threshold that is greater than the first temperature threshold.

Temperature control loop for integrated circuit

An inductor is disclosed, including a first wire, a non-conductive material, and a shell. The non-conductive material may cover the first wire, with a portion of each end of the first wire uncovered. The shell may include a top portion and a bottom portion and include at least one magnetized layer and at least one gap between the first portion and the second portion. The shell may also surround a portion of the non-conductive material.

Coupled inductor structures utilizing magnetic films

Techniques are disclosed relating to power management of an integrated circuit. In one embodiment, an integrated circuit includes a plurality of temperature sensors configured to measure a plurality of temperatures at different locations in the integrated circuit. The integrated circuit further includes a power management circuit configured to determine a set of guard bands based on a temperature difference determined using the plurality of temperatures. The power management circuit is configured to adjust, using the set of guard bands, a particular one of the plurality of temperatures, and to use the adjusted particular temperature to manage power consumption of the integrated circuit. In some embodiments, the power management circuit is configured to manage the power consumption by adjusting a voltage supplied to the integrated circuit, the adjusted voltage being based on the adjusted particular temperature.

Systems and methods for determining temperatures of integrated circuits

Packages and methods of formation are described. In an embodiment, a system in package (SiP) includes first and second redistribution layers (RDLs), stacked die between the first and second RDLs, and conductive pillars extending between the RDLs. A molding compound may encapsulate the stacked die and conductive pillars between the first and second RDLs.

Fan out system in package and method for forming the same

In some embodiments, a method may be provided for calibrating integrated circuit temperature sensors. The method may include sensing a first temperature using a first temperature sensor and a second temperature using a second temperature sensor. The first temperature sensor may be calibrated and is external to a package of the integrated circuit. The second temperature sensor may be included in the integrated circuit. The method may include increasing a temperature of the integrated circuit. The method may include allowing the integrated circuit and the package to thermally equilibrate over a first period of time. The method may include sensing a first slope of a temperature decay by the first temperature sensor. The method may include sensing a second slope of a temperature decay by the second temperature sensor. The method may include calibrating the second temperature sensor responsive to a difference between the first and second temperatures and the first and second slopes.

System and method for calibrating temperatures sensor for integrated circuits

A method of assembling a semiconductor chip device is provided that includes placing an interposer on a first semiconductor chip. The interposer includes a first surface seated on the first semiconductor chip and a second surface adapted to thermally contact a heat spreader. The second surface includes a first aperture. A second semiconductor chip is placed in the first aperture.

Stacked semiconductor chips with thermal management

In some embodiments, a semiconductor device package assembly may include a first substrate. The semiconductor device package assembly may include a first die electrically connected to the first substrate such that the first die is directly bonded to the first substrate. The semiconductor device package assembly may include a second substrate directly bonded to a surface of the first die. The semiconductor device package assembly may include an electronic memory module. The electronic memory module may be directly bonded to the second substrate. The semiconductor device package assembly may include a thermally conductive material directly applied to the electronic memory module. The semiconductor device package assembly may include a heat spreader directly bonded to the thermally conductive material. The heat spreader may function to transfer heat from the first die and the electronic memory module through the heat spreader from the first side to the second side.

Thermally enhanced wafer level fan-out POP package

A PoP (package-on-package) package includes a bottom package coupled to a top package. Terminals on the top of the bottom package are coupled to terminals on the bottom of the top package with an electrically insulating material located between the upper surface of the bottom package and the lower surface of the top package. The bottom package and the top package are coupled during a process that applies force to bring the packages together while heating the packages.

PoP structure with electrically insulating material between packages

Various semiconductor chip thermal interface material methods and apparatus are disclosed. In one aspect, a method of establishing thermal contact between a first semiconductor chip and a heat spreader is provided. The method includes placing a thermal interface material layer containing a support structure on the first semiconductor chip. The heat spreader is positioned proximate the thermal interface material layer. The thermal interface material layer is reflowed to establish thermal contact with both the first semiconductor chip and the heat spreader.

Thermal interface material with support structure

Embodiments of systems and methods for improved measurement of transient thermal responses in electronic systems are described herein. Embodiments of the disclosure use the known thermal transfer function of an electronic system to generate an equivalent resistor-capacitor (RC) network having a dynamic response that is identical to a given power excitation as the actual electronic system would have to that power excitation. Using the analogy between thermal and electrical systems, a Foster RC network is constructed, comprising a plurality of RC stages in which resistors and capacitors are connected in parallel. Subsequently, the analog thermal RC network is converted into an infinite impulse response (IIR) digital filter, whose coefficients can be obtained the Z-transform of the analog thermal RC network. This IIR digital filter establishes the recursive relationship between temperature output at the current time step and measured power input at the previous time step. Using this IIR digital filter, temperature response subject to arbitrary time-dependent power can be calculated in very small amount of time compared with prior art methods.

Transient thermal modeling of multisource power devices

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Yizhang Yang