Successful utilization of the inherent capability of wide bandgap materials and architectures for radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers (PAs) necessitates the creation of an alternative thermal management paradigm. Recent “embedded cooling” efforts in the aerospace industry have focused on overcoming the near-junction thermal limitations of conventional electronic materials and enhancing removal of the dissipated power with on-chip cooling. These efforts, focusing on the use of diamond substrates and microfluidic jet impingement, are ushering in a new generation (Gen3) of thermal packaging technology. Following the introduction of a modified Johnson's figure-of-merit (JFOM-k), which includes thermal conductivity to reflect the near-junction thermal limitation, attention is turned to the options, challenges, and techniques associated with the development of embedded thermal management technology (TMT). Record GaN-on-Diamond transistor linear power of 11 W/mm, transistor power fluxes in excess of 50 kW/cm2, and heat fluxes, above 40 kW/cm2, achieved in Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)'s near-junction thermal transport (NJTT) program, are described. Raytheon's ICECool demonstration monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), which achieved 3.1× the CW RF power output and 4.8× the CW RF power density relative to a baseline design, are used to illustrate the efficacy of Gen3 embedded cooling.
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December 2019
Review Articles
Embedded Cooling for Wide Bandgap Power Amplifiers: A Review
A. Bar-Cohen,
A. Bar-Cohen
Raytheon—Space and Airborne Systems,
Arlington, VA 22209
Arlington, VA 22209
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J. J. Maurer,
J. J. Maurer
Raytheon—Space and Airborne Systems
Arlington, VA 22209
Arlington, VA 22209
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D. H. Altman
D. H. Altman
Raytheon—Integrated Defense Systems,
Marlborough, MA 01752
Marlborough, MA 01752
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A. Bar-Cohen
Raytheon—Space and Airborne Systems,
Arlington, VA 22209
Arlington, VA 22209
J. J. Maurer
Raytheon—Space and Airborne Systems
Arlington, VA 22209
Arlington, VA 22209
D. H. Altman
Raytheon—Integrated Defense Systems,
Marlborough, MA 01752
Marlborough, MA 01752
Contributed by the Electronic and Photonic Packaging Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC PACKAGING. Manuscript received August 10, 2018; final manuscript received March 21, 2019; published online July 30, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Sreekant Narumanchi.
J. Electron. Packag. Dec 2019, 141(4): 040803 (14 pages)
Published Online: July 30, 2019
Article history
Received:
August 10, 2018
Revised:
March 21, 2019
Citation
Bar-Cohen, A., Maurer, J. J., and Altman, D. H. (July 30, 2019). "Embedded Cooling for Wide Bandgap Power Amplifiers: A Review." ASME. J. Electron. Packag. December 2019; 141(4): 040803. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4043404
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