Hey Buddy, Can you Spare a Paradigm?
Update on efforts by the JEDEC JC15.1 Thermal Characterization Subcommittee to develop standards for simulation and test needed for 21st century technology --
Bruce Guenin, Sun Microsystems

Fairmont Hotel

PLEASE RESERVE IN ADVANCE --

OVERVIEW:

The JEDEC JC15.1 Thermal Characterization Subcommittee has established itself as the world's premiere thermal standards organization for IC packaging. It is working on a broad agenda in the areas of thermal testing and simulation. Two specific activity areas are highlighted below and will comprise the main focus of the presentation. Other activity areas will be briefly described. In the simulation area, the focus of effort is on standards and guidelines relating to the generation and use of what are called Compact Thermal Models (CTMs). As power levels go up and the performance margins go down, there is the need for calculating the temperature of ICs in actual systems. The traditional use of Theta,ja together with engineering judgment is no longer sufficient. CTMs are, in essence, resistor networks which can accurately represent heat flow through the IC package when used in system-level simulation software. CTM methodologies are still an very active area of research. The challenge here is to create standards and guidelines which will provide a structure to allow the effective use of CTMs, even as the technology moves forward at a rapid pace.

In the test area, the emphasis is on completing the standards work of the Theta,jc measurement. Theta,jc is the limiting thermal resistance in determining how much power can be dissipated in an IC when an external heat sink is used. A key challenge has been to provide methods for measuring the case temperature accurately, while avoiding overly complicated or expensive instrumentation. The need for a robust standard in this area grows yearly as the power levels continue to increase.

Speaker Biography

Dr. Bruce M. Guenin currently holds the position of Principal Research Engineer at the RAS Computer Analysis Laboratory, Sun Microsystems. He is responsible for initiating, conducting, and leading research related to thermal management and reliability of high-end servers, using both simulation and testing. Previously he directed thermal characterization activities at Amkor Technology supporting a wide variety of IC packaging products.

He has authored or co-authored over 30 papers in the areas of thermal and electrical characterization of microelectronic packages, high-temperature superconductivity, electrical connectors, solid state physics, and fluid dynamics, and holds 5 patents.

He is the Chairman of the JEDEC JC-15.1 Committee, which sets industry standards for thermal testing and modeling. Dr. Guenin was recently General Chair of the 2001 Semi-Therm Conference. Additionally, he is an Associate Editor of Electronics Cooling Magazine.

Dr. Guenin received the B.S. degree in Physics from Loyola University, New Orleans, and the Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Virginia.