Silicon Microchannel Cooling for High Power Chips

Abstract

In this work, single-phase Si microchannel coolers have been designed and characterized for cooling very high power density chips in single-chip modules (SCMs) in a laboratory environment. The average heat transfer coefficient was determined for a wide range of microchannel designs. Through the use of multiple heat exchanger zones and optimized cooler fin design, an average unit thermal resistance of 16.2°C·mm 2 /W between the chip surface and the inlet cooling water was demonstrated for an Si microchannel cooler attached to a chip with Ag epoxy in an SCM. Very good uniformity from SCM to SCM (±2%) and within an SCM (±5%) was achieved. Further, cooling of a thermal test chip with a microchannel cooler bonded to it and packaged in an SCMwas also demonstrated for a chip power density greater than 400 W/cm 2 . Coolers of this design should be able to cool chips with average power densities of 500 W/cm 2 or more.

Nonreversible surface relief formation in thin films of cinnamate derivatives containing benzoxazine structure

“…One of the solutions that is attracting attention is cooling technology using a microchannel. 25,26 In a microchannel, having a width and height of several microns to several thousand microns, heat can be efficiently transferred in and out since the influence of the surface area is greater than that of the volume. 27 If thermally stable, nonreversible SR microstructures can be formed.…”

“…Recently, with the miniaturization of integrated circuit chips and packages in the semiconductor field, large heat generation, which adversely affects reliability and performance, has become a problem. One of the solutions that is attracting attention is cooling technology using a microchannel 25,26 . In a microchannel, having a width and height of several microns to several thousand microns, heat can be efficiently transferred in and out since the influence of the surface area is greater than that of the volume 27 .…”

Microscale heat transfer in macro geometries

“…Subsequently in 2004 to 2007, Steinke and Kandlikar [32][33][34] and Colgan et al [35] studied the practicability of such microchannels. Steinke and Kandlikar [34] implemented staggered fin configuration to enhance the heat transfer.…”

“…The experimental results showed that the enhanced microchannels were nearly 100 times better than the plain ones in terms of heat transfer coefficient, while the former only required at most 4 times more pumping power. Meanwhile, Colgan et al [35] also made use of staggered fins and the heat sink was able to remove heat flux up to 400 W/cm 2 , with a pressure drop less than 35 kPa. These research works have shown that enhancement techniques can indeed be applied to flows in microchannels and they can improve the heat transfer greatly.…”