From VIE (written by Alex Lux) - IBM Thermal Conduction Modules- IBM's thermal conduction module (TCM) technology was one of the densest forms of electronic packaging in the 1980s. This module provided the logic circuitry for the IBM 308X family of high-performance mainframe computers. An IBM ES9000 display presentation module is pictured here, and it features a cut-away portion that reveals some of the interconnections that made this technology a breakthrough. Layers within its ceramic blocks contained wires that were linked through nearly 350,000 tiny holes, allowing rapid communication between chips. All of these connections generated significant heat, which was dissipated by a series of heat sinks, as well as water and helium.