Micromachined passive phase-change cooler for thermal management of chip-level electronics

Abstract

This paper reports an efficient and reliable passive cooling device using phase-change of coolant in response to the needs of chip-level electronics applications in which heat dissipation must be removed as rapidly and continuously as possible. The design of this cooling device was developed with three functional layers including evaporator, wick, and reservoir, which provided enhanced capillary forces, allowing reliable cooling performance without wick dryout and coolant back flows. Cooling performance by the developed system was demonstrated experimentally with a combination of microfabrication techniques and nanomaterial synthesis, showing rapid and efficient heat removal ability by enhanced and extended capillary action during the operation. The chronic dryout limitation in micro cooling devices could be addressed by the proposed thermal system.