TRUMPF targets integrated chip cooling
TRUMPF is using ultrashort-pulse laser technology to fabricate microscale cooling structures within advanced chip stacks, targeting the thermal challenges created by increasingly dense AI packages.
TRUMPF is showcasing an ultrashort-pulse laser process designed to enable the industrial production of cooling structures integrated directly into semiconductor packages and chip stacks.
The company says the approach addresses a growing thermal challenge in advanced packaging, where stacked and closely integrated devices generate increasing amounts of heat in a confined space.
Conventional cooling at the server or system level can become less effective when heat is generated deeper within the package, driving interest in technologies that remove heat closer to its source.
Potential approaches include microfluidic cooling and integrated heat spreaders, which require extremely fine structures to be fabricated within package materials.
TRUMPF is targeting the production of these structures using ultrashort-pulse lasers, with the process capable of working with materials including silicon carbide (SiC) and diamond.
SiC is attractive for thermal management because of its ability to conduct heat, but its hardness makes the fabrication of microscale structures challenging using conventional semiconductor etching processes.
TRUMPF says its ultrashort-pulse lasers can ablate SiC with micrometre-level precision to create the required cooling structures. The company says the combination of high laser power, beam-shaping technology and application expertise enables the structures to be produced at industrial scale.
According to TRUMPF, the laser process can achieve at least five times the processing speed of established etching approaches while maintaining the surface quality and geometric precision required for integrated cooling structures.
The company says productivity is critical as semiconductor manufacturers seek to move advanced thermal-management concepts beyond development and into volume production.
The process is intended to give chip manufacturers flexibility in integrating cooling structures within the chip stack, potentially allowing heat to be removed closer to high-power devices rather than relying solely on cooling applied at the package or system level.
The development reflects a broader shift in advanced packaging towards integrated thermal management. As heterogeneous integration and three-dimensional stacking increase device density, controlling heat flow is becoming increasingly important alongside electrical and optical interconnect performance.
TRUMPF is demonstrating the technology at SEMICON Taiwan 2026, positioning ultrashort-pulse laser processing as a potential manufacturing route for next-generation integrated cooling solutions for AI processors and other high-performance semiconductor devices.
