A research team from the University of Tokyo has devised a new cooling solution that uses water’s changing phases to make it more efficient at removing heat. SciTech Daily says that water absorbs seven times the energy when it changes phase from liquid to gas (i.e., boiling the water), allowing it to capture and dissipate more heat versus the traditional method of using flowing water. However, since the coolant flows through tiny capillaries built directly into the chip, the steam would often have difficulty flowing through these narrow channels. This often makes it less efficient than traditional methods.
The researchers solved this issue using 3D microfluidic channels with a capillary structure and a manifold distribution layer. They discovered that the shape of the microchannels and how the coolant is distributed throughout the system significantly impact its thermal and hydraulic performance. By ensuring the continuous flow of water and steam, the team achieved a coefficient of performance (COP) of 100,000 — about ten times greater than what single-phase water cooling can achieve.
“Thermal management of high-power electronics devices is crucial for the development of next-generation technology, and our design may open new avenues for achieving the cooling required,” senior author Masahiro Nomura said. The deployment of this two-phase system could allow for more compact cooling solutions without needing to invent or use more exotic fluids.
Furthermore, it could address the thermal issues that high-performance computing faces, resulting in more powerful chips requiring less cooling power. This technology can also be used in other applications, like lasers, photodetectors, LEDs, and radar systems, and be applied in the automotive and aerospace industries. This system also has the potential to work passively, allowing the changing phases of the liquid to dissipate the heat through convection, letting it function without needing a pumping mechanism.
As our chips get smaller yearly, they also start generating more heat concentrated in such a small area. Because of this, we need innovation in cooling technology to keep up with semiconductor development. We’ve already seen a couple of novel active cooling solutions, like the Frore AirJet Mini Slim and the Ventiva Ionic Cooling Engine. However, this two-phase system could potentially lead to innovations in passive cooling technology, giving us an effective option that fits in tight places and does not require power.
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