SGER: Investigations into Micro-Scale Heat Transfer and CAD Tools for Thermal Management in Deep-Submicron Integrated Circuits

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

Power management as one of the major challenges in integrated circuit (IC) design that will be faced beyond 2006. This project is aimed at power management using micro-scale heat-removal devices that can be integrated with functional logic in dense, high-performance ICs. An evaluation of heat-removal microstructures such as an array of micro heat pipes is being carried out. An on-chip heat-removal architecture using micro heat pipes is being investigated, and computer-aided design tools for automatic insertion of heat spreaders are being developed. It is expected that this research will lead to a synthesis environment in which design primitives for heat removal will be integrated with functional primitives such as gates, latches, and standard cells.