The semiconductor community is developing three-dimensional circuits that integrate logic, memory, optoelectronic and radio-frequency devices, and microelectromechanical systems. These three-dimensional (3D) circuits pose important challenges for thermal management due to the increasing heat load per unit surface area. This paper theoretically studies 3D circuit cooling by means of an integrated microchannel network. Predictions are based on thermal models solving one-dimensional conservation equations for boiling convection along microchannels, and are consistent with past data obtained from straight channels. The model is combined within a thermal resistance network to predict temperature distributions in logic and memory. The calculations indicate that a layer of integrated microchannel cooling can remove heat densities up to 135W/cm2 within a 3D architecture with a maximum circuit temperature of 85°C. The cooling strategy described in this paper will enable 3D circuits to include greater numbers of active levels while exposing external surface area for functional signal transmission.
Abstract-Two-phase microjet impingement cooling is a potential solution for removing heat from high-power VLSI chips. Arrays of microjets promise to achieve more uniform chip temperatures and very high heat transfer coefficients. This paper presents the design and fabrication of single-jets and multijet arrays with circular orifice diameters ranging from 40 to 76 m, as well as integrated heater and temperature sensor test devices. The performance of the microjet heat sinks is studied using the integrated heater device as well as an industry standard 1 cm 2 thermal test chip. For single-phase, the silicon temperature distribution data are consistent with a model accounting for silicon conduction and fluid advection using convection coefficients in the range from 0.072 to 4.4 W/cm 2 K. For two-phase, the experimental results show a heat removal of up to 90 W on a 1 cm 2 heated area using a four-jet array with 76 m diameter orifices at a flowrate of 8 ml/min with a temperature rise of 100 C. The data indicate convection coefficients are not significantly different from coefficients for pool boiling, which motivates future work on optimizing flowrates and flow regimes. These microjet heat sinks are intended for eventual integration into a closed-loop electroosmotically pumped cooling system.[1186]
The increasing heat generation rates in VLSI circuits motivate research on compact cooling technologies with low thermal resistance. This paper develops a closed-loop two-phase microchannel cooling system using electroosmotic pumping for the working fluid. The design, fabrication, and open-loop performance of the heat exchanger and pump are summarized. The silicon heat exchanger, which attaches to the test chip (1 cm 2), achieves junction-fluid resistance near 0.1 K/W using 40 plasma-etched channels with hydraulic diameter of 100 m. The electroosmotic pump, made of an ultrafine porous glass frit with working volume of 1.4 cm 3 , achieves maximum backpressure and flowrate of 160 KPa and 7 ml/min, respectively, using 1 mM buffered de-ionized water as working fluid. The closed-loop system removes 38 W with pump power of 2 W and junction-ambient thermal resistance near 2.5 K/W. Further research is expected to strongly reduce the thermal resistance for a given heating power by optimizing the saturation temperature, increasing the pump flowrate, eliminating the thermal grease, and optimizing the heat exchanger dimensions. Index Terms-Electroosmotic pump, IC cooling technology, microchannel heat exchanger, two-phase heat transfer.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.