US Patent 10120424 Conductive stress-relief washers in microelectronic assemblies

Microelectronic device assembly including a component attached to substrate by at least a screw. The screw applies compressive force against a pad of a thermally and electrically conductive material having sufficiently low modulus to mitigate stress in addition to providing a thermal and electrical path between the component and the substrate. In some embodiments, the screw affixes a printed circuit board hosting one or more integrated circuit components to a motherboard, or passive heat sink. The pad may be deformed to assuage stress applied through the screw during assembly of the device and/or as the device experiences thermal cycling, for example associated with intermittent operation.