JP5614239B2 - Circuit module - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a circuit module.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the semiconductor module includes, for example, a plurality of memory modules 100, and each memory module 100 has a plurality of memory elements 102 arranged on both front and back surfaces of the substrate 101, and the substrate 101 of each memory module 100. Are inserted into connectors 103 provided on the mother board 104 at regular intervals.

  In the conventional memory module 100, the heat generated in the memory element 102 is conducted to the motherboard 104 through the connector 103 and the substrate 101 together with radiation and convection from the surface of the memory element 102, and is also radiated from the surface of the motherboard 104. In addition, a heat radiating plate for dispersing heat generated from the memory element 102 in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 101 is provided in each memory module, and is distributed through the heat radiating plate with which the memory element is in contact and also from the surface of the heat radiating plate. Heat is dissipated.

JP-A 61-94399 JP 2000-251463 A

  However, it is difficult to maintain the temperature of the memory module 100 uniformly by the air convection type heat radiation by the configuration of the conventional memory module 100. In particular, in the memory module 100 located in the center, the memory modules 100 on both sides serve as walls and heat dissipation due to convection is reduced, and heat is received from these, so the temperature becomes high.

  Further, in the memory module 100, by providing the heat sink, the temperature difference between the memory elements in the memory module 100 is made uniform, but the temperature difference between the adjacent memory modules 100 installed in a plurality can be made uniform. Absent. Furthermore, since the inclination of each memory element 102 differs due to deformation such as warping of the substrate 101, contact with the heat sink is non-uniform, so that the thermal resistance to the heat sink increases and heat dissipation deteriorates.

  As described above, when a plurality of memory modules 100 are arranged in parallel on the mother board 104, the temperature difference between the memory modules 100 becomes large, so that the operating characteristics of the memory element 102 are different, resulting in a system failure. May occur.

  Therefore, in the present invention, when a plurality of semiconductor modules (memory modules, etc.) on which a plurality of semiconductor elements (memory elements, etc.) are mounted on a substrate are arranged in parallel on the motherboard, the semiconductor modules that generate heat during operation are cooled. Provided is a heat dissipating device that suppresses temperature variation between the two.

  One aspect of the invention includes a plurality of semiconductor modules mounted on a mother board at a predetermined interval, and a plurality of semiconductor elements in which a flexible tube having a refrigerant therein is mounted on the substrate for the semiconductor module, A housing that is in contact with the semiconductor module so as to sandwich the semiconductor module continuously; means for radiating the refrigerant after cooling the semiconductor module in the middle of the pipe; and circulating the refrigerant in the tube; And a heat dissipating device having a means for controlling the flow rate of the circuit module.

  According to the above aspect of the present invention, the heat dissipation structure in close contact with the semiconductor element that generates heat in each semiconductor module is realized by the flexible tube in which the refrigerant is stored. Temperature variation between modules can be suppressed.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the memory module applied to this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the thermal radiation apparatus in the circuit module which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of attachment structure of the flexible tube in the housing which becomes embodiment of this invention (in the case of spiral shape-before module mounting). It is a figure which shows the attachment structural example (after a module mounting | wearing) of the flexible tube in the housing which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the application result (housing structure of FIG. 3) with respect to the memory module of the thermal radiation apparatus which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification 1 (when meandering shape-before module mounting | wearing) of the attachment structure of the flexible tube in the housing which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification 1 (in the case of a serpentine shape-after module attachment) of the attachment structure of the flexible tube in the housing which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification 2 (in the case of a spiral shape-before module attachment) of the attachment structure of the flexible tube in the housing which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification 2 (in the case of a spiral shape-after module attachment) of the attachment structure of the flexible tube in the housing which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the problem of the heat dissipation in the conventional memory module.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, an example in which a memory module is applied as a semiconductor module will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a memory module applied to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 (a) side view and (b) top view, the module group includes a plurality of memory modules 100, and each memory module 100 has a plurality of memory elements 102a and 102b on both the front and back surfaces of a substrate 101. The board 101 of each memory module 100 is inserted into a connector 103 provided on a mother board (also called a system board) 104 at regular intervals. In this embodiment, the memory element is mounted on both sides, but it is of course possible to mount on one side. The memory element 102 is a general term for the memory elements 102a and 102b.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a circuit module including the heat dissipation device of the present invention. The circuit module includes a mother board 104 on which a plurality of memory modules 100 shown in FIG. The heat dissipation device 1 circulates a refrigerant (liquid or gas) 21 in the tube 20 in order to cool the memory module 100 that generates heat.

  In order to cool each memory module 100 mounted on the motherboard 104, the heat dissipation device 1 has a housing 10 in which a refrigerant 20 is stored and a tube 20 made of a flexible material is attached.

  The tube 20 is fixed to the housing 10 by, for example, integral molding or a belt wire, and contacts the memory element and the substrate mounted on the front and back surfaces of the substrate of each memory module 100. Are stored so as to be sandwiched continuously. As a condition of the structure of the tube 20, in order to suppress temperature variation between a plurality of memory modules 100 arranged in a distributed manner, a uniform contact surface with each memory module 100 is formed and the refrigerant 21 is circulated without stagnation. A cooling structure is essential.

  The heat radiating device 1 controls the flow rate of the refrigerant 21 by circulating the refrigerant 21 in the tube 20 by means of the pump 40 by means of the radiator 30 and the fan 31 for radiating the refrigerant 21 after cooling the memory module, and the pump 20. Means.

  According to the present invention described above, the heat generation of the memory element can be uniformly absorbed from the surface of the memory element and the substrate by the flexible tube 20 provided with the refrigerant inside. In addition, since the tube 20 is formed of a flexible material, uniform heat dissipation is possible even if each memory module 100 on the motherboard 104 or each memory element on the substrate is tilted.

  Furthermore, a housing that integrates the heat dissipation structure of each memory module group can realize a heat dissipation device that is easily detachable and has excellent workability.

  Next, details of the heat dissipation device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 shows a structure of the housing of the present invention when a tube processed into a spiral shape is attached, and shows a state before the housing is attached to the memory module.

  As described above, the structure of the tube 20 which is the main element of the present invention is required to have a uniform contact property with the individual memory modules 100 arranged in a distributed manner and a flow channel structure in which the refrigerant 21 does not stay. In the following embodiments, a spiral tube structure made of a flexible member formed by a single flow path will be described as an example.

  3A shows a side view of the housing, and FIG. 3B shows a top view taken along line A-A ′ of FIG. The memory module heat dissipation device 1 of the present invention includes a housing 10 that connects and integrates spiral tubes 20 wound at regular intervals.

  The tube 20 has a winding diameter (inner diameter) equal to or larger than the width of the memory module 100 shown in FIG. 1, and the number of turns and the pitch interval are matched to the number of memory modules 100 (7 in this embodiment) and the module interval. Thus, the memory modules are spirally unwound in the juxtaposition direction of the modules and attached to the housing so that the memory modules can be sandwiched.

  The tube 20 is made of a flexible resin material or rubber material, and is molded into a spiral shape according to the distance between the substrates of each memory module.

  The tube 20 is made of a resin material such as fluorine (for example, Teflon (registered trademark)), polyimide, polyetheretherketone (PEEK), or rubber such as nitrile, neoprene, ethylene propylene, silicon, fluorine, or natural. Material is preferred.

  Moreover, the suitable cross section of the tube 20 is good to set it as a circle, an ellipse, an ellipse, and a square hollow shape.

  Furthermore, the materials used for the refrigerant 21 provided in the tube are those mainly composed of a fluorocarbon, those mainly composed of a halogenated hydrocarbon, those mainly composed of an insulating oil such as silicone oil, water, and the like. -Either a main component such as pure water or a mixture of water and ethylene glycol is suitable.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a flexible tube mounting structure in the housing of the present invention, and shows a state after the housing to which the spiral tube of FIG. 3 is mounted is mounted on the memory module. 4A is a side view of the housing in which the memory module is mounted, FIG. 4B is a top view at BB ′ of FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4C is a diagram of C in FIG. -C 'sectional drawing is shown, respectively.

  In the heat radiating device 1, the housing 10 is adjacent to the substrate 101 of each memory module 100 inserted into the connector 103 on the motherboard 104, and the tubes of the helical tube 20 mounted on the housing 10 are adjacent to each other. It is mounted according to a position where a gap can be generated. At this time, due to the elastic deformation of the tube 20, the surface of the tube 20 is in surface contact with the memory element 102, and the adjacent substrates are in surface contact with each other by being sandwiched between the tubes 20 in a balanced manner.

  Further, the spiral tube 20 structure in the housing 10 forms a circulation flow path of the refrigerant 21 by a single flow path from the inlet to the outlet of the housing 10, and the refrigerant 21 flows through the tube without staying.

  With the configuration of the present invention described above, the heat generated from the memory element 102 of the memory module 100 is conducted from the tube 20 in surface contact with the memory element 102 to the refrigerant 21 flowing in the tube 20, and heat exchange is performed by the radiator 30. Then, the refrigerant 21 is cooled by radiating heat, and the heat radiation is repeated as the refrigerant 21 circulates. As a result, the heat generated from each memory element 102 of each memory module 100 is dispersed throughout the module group by the refrigerant 21 flowing in the tube 20, and the occurrence of a temperature difference between the modules is suppressed.

  If a thermal compound is interposed between the tube 20 and the memory element 102, the adhesion is increased and the heat transfer efficiency is improved.

  Preferably, a heat transfer plate is attached to the memory element 102 of the memory module 100, or the surface of the tube 20 is covered with a material having a high thermal conductivity. At this time, as a material to be selected, for example, a metal such as copper, aluminum, or titanium, or a ceramic such as alumina or aluminum nitride is preferable. Alternatively, the tube 20 may be covered with a braid or mesh made of a metal such as copper, aluminum, titanium, and stainless steel.

  FIG. 5 shows a result of application of the heat dissipation device of the present invention to a memory module. FIG. 5 shows test results when the housing structure to which the spirally processed tube of FIG. 4 is attached is applied.

  In the test, on a motherboard using Intel Core 2QUAD_3.0GHz as CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memory module PC2-6400 (6.4GB / s max.) With memory chip DDR2-800 (800MHz) as memory Carried out.

  The test conditions for operating the memory module 100 were an environmental temperature of 26 ° C. and a load factor of the CPU of 100% using a test program (PC Wizard). About a comparative example and a present Example using a data logger (NR-1000 made by Keyence) using a thermocouple which installed the temperature of the memory module 100 at the left end part, the center part, and the right end part near the center of the memory module. It was measured.

  As a result, in the conventional example by natural air cooling, the left end portion is 63 ° C., the central portion is 81 ° C., and the right end portion is 60 ° C. There is a temperature difference of 21 ° C. between the central portion and the right end portion. It can be seen that the maximum temperature difference between the modules is suppressed to 3 ° C. and the variation is suppressed to be 62 ° C., the central portion 60 ° C., and the right end portion 59 ° C.

  In the above embodiment, an example of a structure in which a flexible tube mounting structure for a housing is processed into a spiral shape has been shown. Hereinafter, modified examples of the housing mounting structure will be described with reference to FIGS. .

  As described above, design conditions essential to the structure of the tube 20 include (1) a uniform contact structure with the individual memory modules 100 arranged in a distributed manner, and (2) the refrigerant 21 in the tube 20. A flow path structure that does not stay is required.

  As a modified example of the tube structure that satisfies the above design conditions, an example of a tube structure piped in a meandering shape or a spiral shape on the same plane is shown below. These modified examples also realize the downsizing of the housing with respect to the above-described spiral tube structure.

  6 and 7 show a structure when a tube processed into a meandering shape is attached to the housing of the present invention. 6 shows a state before the housing is attached to the memory module, and FIG. 7 shows a state after the housing is attached.

  In this embodiment, the tube 20 is attached to the housing in accordance with the number of modules and the module interval of the memory module 100 shown in FIG. 1 and is sandwiched continuously while meandering in the same plane. A piping structure formed by a road is provided.

  In the housing structure processed into the meandering tube, the thickness of the housing is about 20 mm and the thickness is less than 1/2 (the thickness of the coil type housing is smaller than that of the housing structure using the spiral tube). , 40 mm).

  Further, as in the case of the spiral shape, it was found that the temperature difference between the memory modules can be kept low, which is effective in suppressing temperature variations.

  8 and 9 show a structure in the case where a tube processed into a spiral shape is attached to the housing of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows a state before the housing is attached to the memory module, and FIG. 9 shows a state after the housing is attached.

  The mounting structure of the tube 20 to the housing in the present embodiment is spirally formed from the central module to the outermost module in the same plane in accordance with the number of modules and the module interval of the memory module 100 shown in FIG. The present invention provides a piping structure that is continuously sandwiched and formed by a single refrigerant flow path.

  In the housing structure in which the tube is processed into the spiral shape, the thickness of the housing is about 20 mm, compared with the housing structure using the spiral tube, and the thickness is less than 1/2 (the thickness of the spiral type housing). Can be reduced by 40 mm).

  Further, as in the case of the spiral shape, it was found that the temperature difference between the memory modules can be kept low, which is effective in suppressing temperature variations.

  The tube structure having the spiral shape requires extra space by drawing the tube as compared with the meandering tube structure, but the circulation of the refrigerant 21 is good.

  As another modification, a structure in which the tubes 20 are divided and arranged so as to surround the individual memory modules 100 is also conceivable (not shown). However, even if the uniform contact structure of (1) described above can be realized, the flow path is a flow path branched to each memory module 100 at the inlet, so that the uniform flow of the refrigerant 21 is obstructed and (2 ) Is not satisfied.

On the other hand, in the meandering tube and the spiral tube described above, since the flow path is integrated in the tube, a smooth flow of the refrigerant 21 can be ensured.
As described above, according to the present invention, the heat generation of the semiconductor element can be uniformly absorbed from the surface of the semiconductor element and the substrate by the flexible tube provided with the refrigerant inside, and the temperature between the semiconductor modules can be reduced. The difference can be made uniform.

  In addition, since the tube is formed of a flexible material, a gap is generated between the semiconductor element and the substrate even if each semiconductor module on the motherboard or each semiconductor element on the substrate is inclined. Therefore, uniform heat dissipation is possible.

  Furthermore, since the heat radiating device of each semiconductor module group has an integrated structure, it can be easily detached and has excellent workability.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. It can be changed.

  The present invention relates to a heat dissipation technique for a circuit module configured by combining a plurality of chips such as a semiconductor integrated circuit in which a plurality of elements are formed on the same chip and accommodating them in one case.

1 Heat Dissipation Device 10 Housing 20 Tube 21 Refrigerant 30 Radiator 31 Fan 40 Pump 100 Memory Module 101 Substrate 102 Memory Element 103 Connector 104 Motherboard

Claims (3)

A plurality of semiconductor modules mounted on the motherboard at predetermined intervals;
A housing in which a flexible tube having a refrigerant inside is in contact with a plurality of semiconductor elements mounted on a substrate for the semiconductor module and is sandwiched between the semiconductor modules; and the semiconductor module possess a means for radiating said refrigerant after cooling in the middle of the piping, to circulate the refrigerant in the tube, and means for controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant, a heat dissipation device having a a,
The circuit module according to claim 1, wherein the tube is processed and attached in a spiral shape in the housing . 2. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein the tube is made of a resin material containing fluorine, polyimide, or polyether ether ketone, or a rubber material containing nitrile, neoprene, ethylene propylene, silicon, fluorine, or nature. module. 3. The circuit module according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the tube is covered with a metal containing copper, aluminum, titanium, or a ceramic containing alumina or aluminum nitride.