Abstract
In the electronics world, self-heating is an inevitable by-product of electrical activation that has a major impact on device performance and reliability. Thermal technologies have been in constant development to effectively dissipate the generated heat and keep device operation temperatures within reliable limits. Moreover, thermal characterization technologies have been implemented to understand the thermal performance within microelectronic sys- tems, but not without facing experimental and numerical challenges. This work presents ad- vanced thermal investigations, both experimental and numerical, that are adapted and most suited for emerging micro-electronic technologies. Initially, the main experimental and numerical modeling challenges faced in the thermal analysis of micro-electronics are discussed. The advanced thermal characterization techniques are then presented, from high-resolution thermorflectance based thermal imaging to adaptive multi-grid numerical techniques. Moreover, a coupled experimental and numerical thermal investigation is presented for a more complete thermal assessment of micro-scale semiconductor devices. The coupled approach provides quick and accurate analysis of the thermal aspect of complex micro-electronic device operation and allows the advancement in design and reliability of devices used in numerous applications such as high voltage switching, low power micro-sensing, non-volatile memory, and neuromorphic computing. These thermal characterization strategies are also applied at the integration level of integrated circuits where interconnects reliability is also impacted by their thermal performance. A full review is presented for each of the studied device technologies in an effort to suitably and effectively apply the presented thermal characterization techniques to address the unique requirements and challenges.
Degree Date
Fall 12-19-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Peter E. Raad
Subject Area
Mechanical Engineering
Number of Pages
207
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
El Helou, Assaad, "Advanced Thermal Characterization and Temperature Control to Enable the Next Generation of Micro-Electronic Technologies" (2020). Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations. 31.
https://scholar.smu.edu/engineering_mechanical_etds/31
