Roger F. Pease - Stanford CA David B. Tuckerman - Stanford CA Richard M. Swanson - Los Altos CA
Assignee:
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University - Stanford CA
International Classification:
H01L 2336
US Classification:
357 81
Abstract:
Two bodies such as an integrated circuit and a heat sink are maintained in a low stress and high thermal conductance abutment by pressure from capillary attraction. A surface of one of the bodies is provided with grooves preferably having reentrant surfaces. A surface of the other body is brought into abutment with the grooved surface with a liquid therebetween which partially fills the grooves. The grooves act as reservoirs for excess liquid so that a minimum thickness liquid interface is achieved, and the grooves enable trapped gas to escape out the open ends thereby preventing voids between the two bodies. Importantly, the groove geometry enforces a well-defined attractive force between the two surfaces due to the liquid surface tension.
