PFI-TT: Developing Advanced Thermal Packaging Materials for the Semiconductor Industry Using Hexagonal Boron Nitride Nanosheets

This Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project seeks to improve the chip packaging industry. Semiconductors are the foundation for top U.S. exports such as artificial intelligence, medical devices, and transportation vehicles. Optimizing thermal management via innovative packaging materials enhances the electronics' efficiency, reliability, and lifespan.

In terms of societal impact, improved thermal management benefits high-computing applications like medical imaging and autonomous vehicles, improving quality of life. Economically, advanced packaging materials transform industries reliant on high-performance electronics, cutting costs and diminishing waste, benefiting businesses and consumers. Ultimately, advanced packaging materials’ progress reshapes the semiconductor industries by enhancing device performance and contributing to a more sustainable and efficient technological landscape.

The project aims to develop advanced hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)-enabled molding compound materials with enhanced thermal conductivity, increased reliability, and a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). The semiconductor industry's shift towards 3D packaging and increased digital logic scaling amplifies thermal challenges and research requirements.

Escalating computing power magnifies energy density, leading to trapped heat issues like power loss and compromised reliability. However, current semiconductor epoxy molding compounds (EMDs) have not changed in over 60-years. These materials encounter limitations like low thermal conductivities, resulting in heightened thermal resistance and impeded heat transfer.

Furthermore, EMDs can degrade due to thermal cycling, affecting reliability. hBN is a layered insulating material with excellent thermal and chemical stabilities, high thermal conductivity, and intrinsic strength. The large-scale hBN nanosheet production via chemical-assisted ball-milling may enable industrial-level hBN production. Introducing chemical functional groups onto hBN nanosheets broadens their applications, enhancing manufacturing flexibility and capabilities.

To comprehensively assess the molding compound's technological viability, the team will optimize hBN combinations with various packaging matrices. This molding compound may enhance thermal conductivity, offer tailored attributes, and align with existing manufacturing processes, transforming thermal management for advanced electronic devices.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.