Systems and methods for cable and contamination management in two-phase immersion systems

Abstract

Systems and methods for mitigating or reducing contamination from cables in an immersion cooling system are provided. One or more cables submerged in an immersion cooling liquid may be at least partially disposed within a conduit. The conduit may be at least partially filled with a sealant such as an epoxy to prevent the one or more cables within the conduit from being exposed to immersion cooling liquid. Systems, methods, and apparatuses for monitoring contamination in an immersion cooling liquid are disclosed. In an embodiment, an apparatus for monitoring contamination includes a first electrode and a second electrode separated by an insulating material such as ceramic or glass. The insulating material further includes a heater configured to raise a temperature of the insulating material. The first electrode, the second electrode, and the insulating material are disposed within the immersion cooling liquid. A temperature of the insulating material is raised to or above a boiling temperature of the immersion cooling liquid and causes the immersion cooling liquid to boil. A controller measures a resistance between the first electrode and the second electrode in response to a voltage applied between the first electrode and the second electrode and correlates the resistance to a contamination level of the immersion cooling liquid. A server in accordance with the present technology includes a plurality of sensors, one or more logic integrated circuits, and a baseboard management controller (BMC). The plurality of sensors is communicatively coupled to the BMC. The server is disposed in an immersion cooling liquid and the sensors measure one or more parameters corresponding to a contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid. The BMC determines the contamination state based on the measurements from the plurality of sensors and controls one or more operational parameters of the server based on the contamination state.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CABLE AND CONTAMINATION MANAGEMENTIN TWO-PHASE IMMERSION SYSTEMS

[0001] This Application claims the benefit of provisional U.S. Application No. 63 / 565,250, filed on March 14, 2024, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CABLE AND CONTAMINATION MANAGEMENT IN TWO-PHASE IMMERSION SYSTEMS,” and provisional U.S. Application No. 63 / 568,767, filed on March 22, 2024, entitled “SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND APPARATUSES FOR FLUID CONTAMINATION MONITORING IN REAL TIME WITH RESISTIVE SENSORS,” and provisional U.S. Application No. 63 / 568,776, filed on March 22, 2024, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FLUID CONTAMINATION MONITORING IN IMMERSION COOLING SYSTEMS,” which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

[0002] In cases where the present application conflicts with a document incorporated by reference, the present application controls.BACKGROUND

[0003] Section 1: As feature sizes and transistor sizes have decreased for integrated circuits (ICs) including chips and semiconductor dies, the amount of heat generated by a single chip, such as a microprocessor, has increased. Computing hardware that has traditionally been air cooled have evolved to chips needing more heat dissipation than can be provided by air alone. In some cases, immersion cooling of chips in a tank containing a coolant liquid is employed to maintain IC chips at appropriate operating temperatures.

[0004] One type of immersion cooling is two-phase immersion cooling, in which heat from a semiconductor die is high enough to boil the coolant liquid. The boiling creates a coolant-liquid vapor in the tank, which is condensed by cooling coils back to liquid form. Heat from the semiconductor dies can then be sunk into the liquid-to-gas and gas-to-liquid phase transitions of the coolant liquid.

[0005] However, degradation or contamination of the cooling fluid can have negative effects on the computational hardware in the immersion cooling system. Computing system cabling such as fiber optic cables, network cables, and connectors, may be a source of contamination due to the materials and manufacturing methods used. If left unaddressed, these cables may contribute significant amounts of contamination to an immersion cooling system, which may lead to damage or destruction of the immersion cooling system.

[0006] Section 2 and Section 3 : As feature sizes and transistor sizes have decreased for computing hardware such as integrated circuits (ICs) including chips and semiconductor dies, the amount of heat generated by a single chip, such as a microprocessor, has increased. Computing hardware that has traditionally been air cooled has evolved to levels of power consumption requiring more heat dissipation than can be provided by air alone. In some cases, immersion cooling of ICs in a tank containing a coolant fluid is employed to maintain ICs at appropriate operating temperatures.

[0007] One type of immersion cooling is two-phase immersion cooling, in which heat from a semiconductor die is high enough to boil the coolant fluid. The boiling creates a coolant fluid vapor in the tank, which is condensed by cooling coils back to liquid form. Heat from the semiconductor dies can then be sunk into the liquid-to-gas and gas-to-liquid phase transitions of the coolant fluid with the result that the semiconductor dies are kept at an acceptable temperature.

[0008] Degradation or contamination of the cooling fluid can have negative effects on the computational hardware in the immersion cooling system. Spot checks on the immersion cooling fluid may be disruptive to immersion cooling system operation, hazardous to the health of a technician responsible for determining a state of the immersion cooling fluid, and may potentially introduce additional contaminants to the immersion cooling fluid.SUMMARY

[0009] Section 1 : The present technology is directed to apparatuses and methods for fluidically isolating cables from immersion cooling liquids inside a computing system such as a two-phase immersion cooling system. Power cables, high-speed signal cables, ethemet cables, fiber optic cables, associated protective cable meshes, etc., may include contaminants such as oils, grease, polymers, and the like, which may leach into immersion cooling liquid and eventually deposit on computing hardware such as semiconductor dies, central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), logic integrated circuits (ICs), and the like. These deposits may interfere with transferred signals, lead to a breakdown of the immersion cooling liquid, prevent efficient heat transfer, and so on. The inventors have recognized and appreciated the need for fluidically isolating cables disposed within immersion cooling liquid from the immersion cooling liquid.

[0010] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an immersion cooling system including: an immersion cooling container at least partially filled with an immersion cooling liquid; a plurality of electronic components, at least one of the plurality of electroniccomponents being disposed within the immersion cooling liquid; a cable including a first portion disposed within the immersion cooling liquid, the cable configured to transmit signals between the plurality of electronic components; and a conduit at least partially disposed within the immersion cooling liquid; wherein: a majority of the first portion is disposed within the conduit; and the conduit is at least partially sealed, such that the majority of the first portion is fluidically isolated from the immersion cooling liquid.

[0011] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the conduit includes at least one of stainless steel, aluminum, or polycarbonate.

[0012] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the conduit is at least partially filled with a sealant.

[0013] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the sealant includes an epoxy.

[0014] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein at least one end of the conduit is sealed with an end cap, the end cap having at least one pass- through for the cable.

[0015] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic components includes a central processing unit (CPU).

[0016] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic components includes a graphics processing unit (GPU).

[0017] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic components includes an artificial intelligence (Al) accelerator.

[0018] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the cable includes at least one of a fiber optic cable, an ethemet cable, a coaxial cable, a twin-axial cable, or a power cable.

[0019] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method of operating an immersion cooling system, the method including: using one or more signals to control, by a controller, an operation of an electronic component disposed within an immersion cooling liquid; transferring heat from the electronic component into the immersion cooling liquid; and transmitting, through a cable, the one or more signals between the controller and the electronic component, the cable including a first portion disposed within the immersion cooling liquid; wherein: a majority of the first portion is disposed within a conduit; and the conduit is at leastpartially sealed, such that the majority of the first portion is fluidically isolated from the immersion cooling liquid.

[0020] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the conduit is at least partially filled with a sealant.

[0021] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the sealant includes an epoxy.

[0022] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein at least one end of the conduit is sealed with an end cap, the end cap having at least one pass- through for the cable.

[0023] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the electronic component includes a central processing unit (CPU).

[0024] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the electronic component includes a graphics processing unit (GPU).

[0025] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the electronic component includes an artificial intelligence (Al) accelerator.

[0026] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method wherein the cable includes at least one of a fiber optic cable, an ethemet cable, a coaxial cable, a twin-axial cable, or a power cable.

[0027] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the conduit includes at least one of stainless steel, aluminum, or polycarbonate 19.

[0028] All combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. The terminology used herein that also may appear in any disclosure incorporated by reference should be accorded a meaning most consistent with the particular concepts disclosed herein.

[0029] Section 2: Immersion cooling systems have been developed as effective systems for the removal of waste heat from high-performance computing hardware. These systems may utilize dielectric liquids such as fluoroketones to provide a more efficient medium than air for the removal of waste heat while still insulating the immersed computing hardware and preventing signal loss or degradation. However, these liquids may break down, become less effective, oreven become conductive over time due to contaminants introduced during installation, maintenance, and repair of immersed computing hardware.

[0030] State-of-the-art immersion cooling systems may require spot checks by a technician to determine a status of immersion cooling fluid within the system. However, this may result in exposure of the immersion cooling fluid to additional external contaminants including dust, dirt, oils, water, and atmospheric humidity. These external contaminants may build up over time and if not addressed, may cause damage or failure of components within the immersion cooling tank.

[0031] The present technology is directed toward an apparatus for monitoring immersion cooling fluid contamination using resistive sensors.

[0032] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system for contamination monitoring, the system including: an immersion cooling container at least partially filled with an immersion cooling liquid; a first electrode immersed within the immersion cooling liquid; a second electrode immersed within the immersion cooling liquid; an insulating material disposed between and in contact with both the first electrode and the second electrode; a heater in contact with the insulating material and configured to transfer heat to the insulating material; and a controller electrically coupled to the first electrode and the second electrode; wherein the controller is configured to: apply a voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode; measure a resistance between the first electrode and the second electrode; and correlate the resistance to a contamination level of the immersion cooling liquid.

[0033] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the controller is configured to cause the heater to raise a temperature of the insulating material to at least a boiling temperature of the immersion cooling liquid.

[0034] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the heater causes at least a portion of the immersion cooling liquid surrounding the insulating material to boil.

[0035] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the voltage difference is between about 10 kV and about 50 kV.

[0036] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit a notification to a management entity in response to the contamination level exceeding a threshold.

[0037] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the immersion cooling liquid includes a fluoroketone or a hydrocarbon.

[0038] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an apparatus for contamination monitoring, the apparatus including: a first electrode immersed within an immersion cooling liquid; a second electrode immersed within the immersion cooling liquid; an insulating material disposed between and in physical contact with both the first electrode and the second electrode; a heater in thermal contact with the insulating material and configured to transfer heat to the insulating material; and a controller electrically coupled to the first electrode and the second electrode; wherein the controller is configured to: apply a voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode; measure a resistance between the first electrode and the second electrode; and correlate the resistance to a contamination level of the immersion cooling liquid.

[0039] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an apparatus, wherein the controller is configured to cause the heater to raise a temperature of the insulating material to at least a boiling temperature of the immersion cooling liquid.

[0040] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an apparatus, wherein the heater causes at least a portion of the immersion cooling liquid surrounding the insulating material to boil.

[0041] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an apparatus, wherein the voltage difference is between about 10 kV and about 50 kV.

[0042] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an apparatus, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit a notification to a management entity in response to the contamination level exceeding a threshold.

[0043] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to an apparatus, wherein the immersion cooling liquid includes a fluoroketone or a hydrocarbon.

[0044] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method for contamination monitoring, the method including: applying, by a controller, a voltage difference between a first electrode disposed within an immersion cooling liquid and a second electrode disposed within the immersion cooling liquid; measuring, by the controller, a resistance between the first electrode and the second electrode in response to applying the voltage difference; and correlating, by the controller, the resistance to a contamination level of the immersion cooling liquid.

[0045] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, further including raising, by a heater, a temperature of an insulating material disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode to at least a boiling temperature of the immersion cooling liquid.

[0046] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the insulating material is attached to the first electrode and the second electrode.

[0047] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, further including causing, by the heater, at least a portion of the immersion cooling liquid surrounding the insulating material to boil.

[0048] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the voltage difference is between about 10 kV and about 50 kV.

[0049] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, further including transmitting, by the controller, a notification to a management entity in response to the contamination level of the immersion cooling liquid exceeding a threshold.

[0050] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the immersion cooling liquid includes a fluoroketone or a hydrocarbon.

[0051] All combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. The terminology used herein that also may appear in any disclosure incorporated by reference should be accorded a meaning most consistent with the particular concepts disclosed herein.

[0052] Section 3 : Immersion cooling systems have been developed as effective systems for the removal of waste heat from high-performance computing hardware. These systems may utilize dielectric liquids such as fluoroketones to provide a more efficient medium than air for the removal of waste heat while still insulating the immersed computing hardware and preventing signal loss or degradation. However, these liquids may break down, become less effective, or even become conductive over time due to contaminants introduced during installation, maintenance, and repair of immersed computing hardware.

[0053] State-of-the-art immersion cooling systems may require spot checks by a technician to determine a status of immersion cooling fluid within the system. However, this may result in exposure of the immersion cooling fluid to additional external contaminantsincluding dust, dirt, oils, water, and atmospheric humidity. These external contaminants may build up over time and if not addressed, may cause damage or failure of components within the immersion cooling tank.

[0054] The present technology allows for a quantifiable unit of measure for surface accumulation of hydrocarbon and other contamination within an immersion cooling liquid and the delivery of telemetry to a baseboard management controller (BMC) and / or immersion cooling tank manager for real time monitoring and remediation. Placement of these sensors can determine different quantities and concentrations of hydrocarbons based on their density in the tank fluid. A BMC can initiate one or more actions or responses to address the contamination accumulation based on the location of contamination, workload of the server, type of contamination, and so on.

[0055] Deposition or migration of materials onto computing hardware, whether native to components within the immersion cooling system or inadvertently introduced to the immersion cooling system (for instance via an open lid while performing maintenance), may pose risk of failure or poor function. These effects may manifest as signal integrity (SI) issues associated with deposition of materials with non-unity permittivity and / or permeability, or electrical conductivity issues associated electromigration and dendrite growth (DG). Additional negative mechanical effects may include solder bump cracking from the mechanical stress of deposited and thermally exercised materials.

[0056] Because the manifestation of DG and SI issues involves numerous overlapping effects that may span chemistry, fluid and thermal dynamics, electromagnetic and electrophoretic effects, non-homogeneity, and the physical structure of the components, it may be very difficult to develop accurate parametric models that predict failure or malfunction. This problem is compounded by the challenge of identifying a set of suitable sensors and sensor locations to feed such a model. Furthermore, while individual effects may be transient, they may often be cumulative. The present disclosure provides apparatuses and methods to cumulatively detect the effects of contamination and IC fluid breakdown over time, alerting a user to failure modes that otherwise may not trip a particular instantaneous threshold.

[0057] As immersion cooling fluids are exposed to heat, chemicals, and contaminants over time, they begin to break down or their properties (such as relative permittivity, loss tangent, etc.) can change over time. These changes can have negative effects on the semiconductor die packages being cooled; for example, a degraded cooling fluid cooling a GPU server in an immersion cooling tank may add undesirable noise to signals being transmittedacross exposed wires on a circuit board, dissipate signals to the point that they are no longer interpretable, or introduce cross-talk between proximal wires.

[0058] The present disclosure is directed toward monitoring apparatuses that may be disposed within an immersion cooling tank operating environment. An exemplary monitoring apparatus may include test components designed to emulate components of other computing hardware disposed within an immersion cooling tank. These test components may be designed to have increased sensitivity to immersion cooling fluid impurities, contamination, and breakdown and may provide an early warning that conditions within an immersion cooling tank may be sub-optimal or potentially damaging to immersed computing hardware. By including instrumentation configured to sense parameter changes representative of DG, SI, and mechanical issues, such monitoring apparatuses may provide an early warning of immersion cooling fluid conditions likely to cause hardware damage or failure in the tank.

[0059] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system for contamination monitoring, the system including: a system controller configured to control one or more operations of an immersion cooling system; an immersion cooling container at least partially filled with immersion cooling liquid; a first server disposed in the immersion cooling liquid, the first server including a baseboard management controller (BMC); and a plurality of sensors disposed on the first server and communicatively coupled to the BMC; wherein: the BMC is communicatively coupled to the system controller; and the BMC is configured to determine a contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid based on at least one measurement from the plurality of sensors.

[0060] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the BMC is further configured to transmit a notification to at least one of the system controller or an external controller based on the contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid.

[0061] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein: the first server further includes one or more logic integrated circuits (ICs); and the BMC is further configured to control an operational parameter of the one or more logic ICs.

[0062] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the operational parameter includes a voltage, a current, a resistance, a capacitance, a temperature, a flow rate, a frequency, a power, a storage of energy, or an operation of a battery.

[0063] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the one or more logic ICs includes two logic ICs, four logic ICs, six logic ICs, eight logic ICs, 16 logic ICs, 24 logic ICs, 32 logic ICs, or 64 or more logic ICs.

[0064] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to measure at least one of a permeability, a permittivity, a temperature, a resistance, a voltage, a current, a dendrite growth, a signal integrity, an electric field, a magnetic field, or a presence of water.

[0065] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the BMC is configured to repeatedly measure outputs from the plurality of sensors at a predetermined interval.

[0066] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a system, wherein the predetermined interval is based on the contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid.

[0067] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method for detecting contamination, the method including: measuring, by a baseboard management controller (BMC), an output from a plurality of sensors disposed on a server, the server including one or more logic integrated circuits (ICs); correlating, by the BMC, the output from the plurality of sensors to a contamination state of an immersion cooling liquid in which the sensors are disposed; and controlling an operational parameter of the one or more logic ICs based on the contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid; wherein: the server is disposed in the immersion cooling liquid; and the BMC is communicatively coupled to one or more of a system controller configured to control one or more operations of an immersion cooling system or an external controller.

[0068] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, further including transmitting, by the BMC, a notification to at least one of the system controller or the external controller based on the contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid.

[0069] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the operational parameter includes a voltage, a current, a resistance, a capacitance, a temperature, a flow rate, a frequency, a power, a storage of energy, or an operation of a battery.

[0070] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the one or more logic ICs includes two logic ICs, four logic ICs, six logic ICs, eight logic ICs, 16 logic ICs, 24 logic ICs, 32 logic ICs, or 64 or more logic ICs.

[0071] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to measure at least one of a permeability, a permittivity, a temperature, a resistance, a voltage, a current, a dendrite growth, a signal integrity, an electric field, a magnetic field, or a presence of water.

[0072] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, further including repeatedly measuring, by the BMC, outputs from the plurality of sensors at a predetermined interval.

[0073] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the predetermined interval is based on the contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid.

[0074] All combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. The terminology used herein that also may appear in any disclosure incorporated by reference should be accorded a meaning most consistent with the particular concepts disclosed herein.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0075] The skilled artisan will understand that the drawings primarily are for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive subject matter described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale; in some instances, various aspects of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein may be shown exaggerated or enlarged in the drawings to facilitate an understanding of different features. In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to like features (e.g., functionally similar and / or structurally similar elements).

[0076] FIG. 1 illustrates an immersion cooling system in accordance with the present technology.

[0077] FIG. 2 depicts aspects of an immersion cooling system for dissipating heat from one or more heat-generating components such as semiconductor die packages via immersion cooling.

[0078] FIG. 2.1 depicts an apparatus for contamination monitoring within an immersion cooling system.

[0079] FIG. 2.2 illustrates a sensor output vs. contamination in accordance with the present technology.

[0080] FIG. 2.3 depicts aspects of an immersion cooling system for dissipating heat from one or more heat-generating components such as semiconductor die packages via immersion cooling.

[0081] FIG. 3.1 illustrates a server in accordance with the present technology.

[0082] FIG. 3.2 illustrates an immersion cooling system including a plurality of servers that are communicatively coupled to a tank manager controller.

[0083] FIG. 3.3 illustrates a sensor output vs. contamination in accordance with the present technology.

[0084] FIG. 3.4 depicts aspects of an immersion cooling system for dissipating heat from one or more heat-generating components such as semiconductor die packages via immersion cooling.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0085] Section 1: FIG. 1 illustrates an immersion cooling system 100 in accordance with the present technology. Immersion cooling system 100 may include a container 110 such as an immersion cooling tank. Container 110 may be at least partially filled with immersion cooling liquid 120 and may additionally contain electronic components such as computing hardware 114. Some or all of the electronic components may be immersed in the immersion cooling liquid 120. In an embodiment, at least one electronic component is disposed within the immersion cooling liquid 120.

[0086] Computing hardware 114 may be any suitable a logic integrated circuit (IC), logic chip, system-on-a-chip (SoC) or system-on-a-wafer (SoW), semiconductor dies, microprocessors, a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), data processing unit (DPU), tensor processing unit (TPU), voltage regulator (VR), high bandwidth memory (HBM), a digital signal processing (DSP) die, an artificial intelligence (Al) accelerator, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or other densely patterned semiconductor die, input / output (I / O) controllers, and / or other chips.

[0087] Computing hardware 114 may further include one or more memory modules, which may be an IC configured to store data. Examples of memory modules used in accordance with the present technology may include a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) module, a static random access memory (SRAM) module, a flash memory module, a solid-state drive (SSD), a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) module, a read-only memory (ROM) module (such as a floating-gate ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), one-time programmable ROM (OTPROM), or the like), or any suitable type of memory module.

[0088] Immersion cooling system 100 may further include one or more electronic components disposed outside of container 110 such as a controller 112. Controller 112 may be a baseboard management controller, programmable logic controller (PLC), control plane, or anysuitable controller. Controller 112 may be responsible for controlling one or more physical parameters or functions of immersion cooling system 100. Controller 112 may be a “tank manager” controller configured to control operations of the tank or components associated with or inside container 110 such as condenser coil flow rate, immersion cooling filter flow rate, operational parameters of semiconductor dies within computing hardware 114 including throttling, rate limiting, or depowering semiconductor dies within an immersion cooling system, ventilation systems, cooling fans, tank power, and the like.

[0089] In an embodiment, controller 112 may be a tablet, a laptop, a scanner, a programmable logic controller (PLC), a smartphone, a handheld computing device, or any suitable device that may allow a person or entity to communicate with, retrieve information from, or send information to a BMC. This may allow on-site troubleshooting, particularly if a principal communication route such as an in-band network, a fiber optic path, an optical network, etc., is unavailable. This can allow a “brute force” approach to fixing potential issues with BMCs during partial equipment outages, and can enable secure access to an entity such as an on-site technician via operating system permissions specific to an I2C connection with a BMC. This secure access may allow troubleshooting, firmware updates, system fixes, and the like, without a risk of compromising data security on the server (such as customer data) that may accompany using in-band networks or similar communicative connections.

[0090] Controller 112 and computing hardware 114 may be communicatively coupled through one or more cables 130. A first portion of one or more cables 130 may be disposed within immersion cooling liquid 120 (equivalently, submerged within immersion cooling liquid 120), while a second portion of one or more cables 130 is disposed outside of the immersion cooling liquid 120. These one or more cables 130 may include one or more dielectric sheaths or sleeves for insulating signal wires within the one or more cables 130, and these sheaths or sleeves may include contaminants that can leach or dissolve into immersion cooling liquid 120 and cause harmful deposits, corrosion, signal disruption, or the like. In some cases, exposed cables may distribute kilograms of contaminants via dissolved hydrocarbons and other impurities.

[0091] One or more cables 130 may include fiber optic cables, ethemet cables, coaxial cables, twin-axial cables, power cables, or any suitable type of cable.

[0092] To minimize or mitigate this corrosion, a majority of the first portion of the one or more cables 130 may be disposed within a conduit 140. For example, a majority of the first portion of one or more cables 130 disposed within immersion cooling liquid 120 may be furtherdisposed within conduit 140 and fluidically isolated from immersion cooling liquid 120. As used herein, “a majority” means more than 50% and includes 100%. The conduit 140 may be made of a material selected to be compatible with immersion cooling liquid, for example, stainless steel, copper, titanium, aluminum, or polycarbonate. Conduit 140 may have a cross section that is cylindrical, square, or another suitable cross section.

[0093] Further, these one or more cables 130 may be fragile or easily damaged by repeated or excessive bending. For example, bending a twin-axial cable may introduce an unacceptably large amount of attenuation for even a small number of bends such as two bends. Conduit 140 may provide structural rigidity that prevents excessive or damaging amounts of bending.

[0094] Conduit 140 may include one or more coatings to help prevent an accumulation of contamination and / or deposition of impurities dissolved in immersion cooling liquid 120. For example, when water is introduced to an immersion cooling system (for example, from the atmosphere when an immersion cooling tank lid is open or from an accidental spillage of water into an immersion cooling tank from cooling pipes), the water may mix with immersion cooling liquid and form acidic or corrosive compounds. These compounds may significantly disrupt the operation of components within an immersion cooling system or destroy components entirely. A coating in accordance with the present technology may help mitigate or impede a deposition or corrosion associated with a contaminant in immersion cooling liquid 120 and help prevent damage to conduit 140.

[0095] Conduit 140 may be at least partially sealed to provide fluidic isolation from the cooling liquid 120 for a majority of the first portion of the one or more cables 130 disposed with conduit 140. For example, conduit 140 may be at least partially filled with a sealant, for example, with an epoxy, silicone, thermoset, thermopolymer, or any suitable sealant. In an embodiment, conduit 140 may be at least partially sealed using a mechanical seal such as an end cap configured to interface with a first end of conduit 140 and fluidically seal conduit 140 while providing at least one pass-through for one or more cables 130.

[0096] The seal may provide a liquid-proof barrier for preventing immersion cooling liquid from entering an inner portion of the conduit 140 in which cables 130 are disposed. In an embodiment, sealant may occupy all of the volume inside conduit 140 that is not occupied by one or more cables 130. Alternatively, the sealant may be used to seal only a portion of an internal volume of conduit 140 adjacent to one or both ends of conduit 140. Conduit 140 may include a first end and a second end, and the sealant may occupy a percentage of the totalinternal volume of conduit 140. For example, a two-part or UV-cure epoxy may be used in accordance with the present technology, such as 3M™ DP100™ two-part epoxy.

[0097] A sealant in accordance with the present technology may have a compressive strength of about 8,400 lbs per square inch (psi), between about 8,000 psi to about 10,000 psi, between about 5,000 psi to about 15,000 psi, between about 2,500 psi to about 25,000 psi, or any suitable compressive strength.

[0098] A sealant in accordance with the present technology may have a shore D hardness of about 77, about 82, between about 80 and about 90, between about 75 and about 85, between about 50 and about 100, or any suitable shore D hardness.

[0099] A sealant in accordance with the present technology may have an overlap shear strength of about 1,500 psi, about 1,750 psi, about 2,000 psi, about 2,200 psi, about 2,500 psi, between about 1,500 psi and about 2,200 psi, between about 1,250 psi and about 2,500 psi, between about 1,000 psi and about 3,000 psi, or any suitable overlap shear strength.

[0100] A sealant in accordance with the present technology may have a cure strength of about 2,500 psi, about 3,000 psi, about 4,000 psi, about 5,000 psi, about 6,000 psi, about 7,500 psi, between about 4,000 psi and about 5,000 psi, between about 3,500 psi and about 5,500 psi, between about 2,500 psi and about 7,500 psi, or any suitable cure strength.

[0101] A sealant in accordance with the present technology may have a coefficient of thermal expansion of about 200x1 O'6or less, about 190x1 O'6about 175x1 O'6or less, m*C m*C m*C about 150xl0'6or less, about 125xl0'6or less, 50xl0'6or less, 10xl0'6or less, m*C m*C m*C m*C or any suitable coefficient of thermal expansion, particularly within a temperature range of about 60° C to about 120° C.

[0102] A sealant in accordance with the present technology may have an electrical resistivity of about 1.6xl015Ohm-cm, between about IxlO15and about 2xl015Ohm-cm, between about 0.5xl015Ohm-cm and about 5xl015Ohm-cm, between about IxlO14Ohm-cm and about IxlO16Ohm-cm, between about IxlO12Ohm-cm and about 1.6xl019Ohm-cm, or any suitable resistivity.

[0103] For example, conduit 140 may be about 90% filled with sealant, about 80% filled with sealant, about 70% filled with sealant, about 60% filled with sealant, about 50% filled with sealant, about 40% filled with sealant, about 30% filled with sealant, about 25% filled with sealant, about 20% filled with sealant, about 15% filled with sealant, about 10% filled with sealant, about 5% filled with sealant, between about 5% and about 15% filled with sealant, between about 10% and about 30% filled with sealant, between about 25% and about 50% filledwith sealant, between about 25% and about 75% filled with sealant, between about 50% and about 95% filled with sealant, or any suitable percentage filled with sealant.

[0104] FIG. 2 depicts aspects of an immersion cooling system 200 for dissipating heat from one or more heat-generating components such as semiconductor die packages 205 via immersion cooling. Each package 205 can include one or more semiconductor dies that produce heat when the system is in operation. The immersion cooling system 200 in the illustrated example of FIG. 2 is a two-phase immersion cooling system, though the invention may also be implemented in a single-phase immersion cooling system. Any computing hardware in immersion cooling system 200 including package 205 and / or semiconductor die(s) 250 may be connected with cables in accordance with the present technology. These cables may be disposed within a conduit in accordance with the present technology such as conduit 140 of immersion cooling system 100.

[0105] Immersion cooling system 200 includes a container such as tank 220 filled, at least in part, with immersion cooling liquid 264. The immersion cooling system 200 can further include at least one chiller 280 that flows a heat-transfer fluid through at least one condenser tube 270 that is disposed in the tank 220 and headspace 208. Condenser tubes 270 and chiller 280 may be part of a heat exchanger. The packages 205 can be mounted on one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) 257 that are immersed, at least in part, in the immersion cooling liquid 264. Immersion-cooling system 200 may further include a filter 275 disposed adjacent to the tank 220.

[0106] Filter 275 may include a filtration media, a housing, and a pump configured to force immersion cooling liquid 264 through filter 275 to remove contaminants, particulates, or other impurities that may be added to immersion cooling liquid 264 during use. Filter 275 may be housed outside of tank 220 while being in fluidic communication with immersion cooling liquid 264 in tank 220. Alternatively, filter 275 may be submerged within immersion cooling liquid 264 inside of tank 220.

[0107] Immersion cooling liquid 264 may be a hydrocarbon, a fluoroketone, an oil, or a similar dielectric liquid that will act as an insulator while simultaneously transferring heat from package 205 more efficiently than air. An example of immersion cooling liquid 264 is Novec™ 649 produced by 3M™. An exemplary immersion cooling liquid 264 used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may have a dielectric constant baseline value of about 1.8- 2 at a frequency of about 1 kHz.

[0108] In an embodiment of the invention, immersion cooling liquid 264 may be considered unacceptably contaminated if the dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent of immersion cooling fluid being used in an immersion cooling system 200 differs by a threshold amount as compared to unused or pure immersion cooling liquid 264. For example, immersion cooling liquid 264 may be considered unacceptably contaminated or degraded if the dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent differs by a threshold of 10% or more as compared to unused or pure immersion cooling liquid 264. In an embodiment, a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent variation threshold may be 20%, 15%, 5%, 3%, 1%, or any suitable threshold.

[0109] Contamination of the immersion cooling liquid 264 and resulting changes to dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may alter or negatively impact operation of components within immersion cooling liquid 264 including semiconductor die(s) 250. An altered dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may result in undesirable cross-talk between components on a PCB, additional noise or reduction in signal strength transmitted along exposed wires of a PCB or semiconductor die(s) 250 submerged in immersion fluid, and / or signal dissipation through the immersion cooling liquid 264. Signal loss may be severe enough that two elements may be effectively represented as being separated by an open circuit despite being physically connected. In an embodiment, a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent variation threshold may be selected based on an observed or inferred effect on one or more submerged semiconductor die(s) 250. For example, an increase in PCIe bit error rate above an error rate baseline may be correlated with an increase in dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent above a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent baseline. Accordingly, operation of semiconductor die(s) 250 may be throttled or suspended when a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent of immersion cooling liquid 264 exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0110] Changes to dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may be caused by contaminants within immersion cooling liquid 264. In some cases, changes to dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may be reversed by filtering the contaminants from immersion cooling liquid 264. In some embodiments, upon detecting an increase in dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent of immersion cooling liquid 264, controller 202 may instruct filter 275 to increase filtration throughput or notify a user that an immersion cooling liquid 264 filtration media may need to be replaced. If a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent exceeds a predetermined threshold, controller 202 may throttle or shut down one or moresemiconductor die(s) 250, generate a notification that immersion cooling liquid 264 should be replaced, trigger an alarm, etc.[OHl] The illustrated example of FIG. 2 is not intended to be to scale. The immersion cooling system 200 may house and provide immersion cooling liquid 264 to tens, hundreds, or even thousands of packages 205. In some cases, the immersion cooling system 200 can be small (e.g., the size of a floor unit air conditioner, approximately 1 meter high, 0.5 meter width, 0.5 meter depth or length). In some implementations, the immersion cooling system can be large (e.g., the size of a van or larger, approximately 2.5 meters high, 2.5 meters width, 4 meters depth or length).

[0112] The immersion cooling system 200 can also include a controller 202 (e.g., a microcontroller, programmable logic controller (PLC), microprocessor, field-programmable gate array, logic circuitry, memory, or some combination thereof) to manage system operation. Controller 202 can perform various system functions such as monitoring temperatures of system components, cooling fluid level, tank access, chiller operation, etc. The controller 202 can further issue commands to control system operation such as executing a start-up sequence, executing a shut-down sequence, assigning workloads among the packages, changing cooling fluid level, changing the temperature of the heat-transfer fluid circulated by the chiller 280, etc. In some implementations, controller 202 can include (or itself be) a baseboard management controller (BMC) 204. That is, the BMC 204 may monitor and control all aspects of system operation for the immersion cooling system 200 in addition to monitoring and controlling workloads of the semiconductor dies 250 in the packages 205 cooled by the system. The immersion cooling system 200 can also include a network interface controller (NIC 203) to allow the system to communicate over a network, such as a local area network or wide area network. The immersion cooling system 200 can further include a fluid sensor array 290 having a plurality of fluid sensors 210. Fluid sensors 210 may include one or more leak detection sensors at least partially submerged in immersion cooling liquid 264.

[0113] The semiconductor die(s) 250 and can be mounted on and attached to a printed circuit board (PCB) 255 (sometimes referred to as a substrate) in device package 205. The package 205 can be made commercially available as an off-the-shelf (OTS) product. The package 205 can be used for single-phase or two-phase immersion cooling of at least one semiconductor die 250, such as a microprocessor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) and / or graphics processing unit (GPU)), voltage regulator (VR), high bandwidth memory (HBM), a digital signal processing (DSP) die, an artificial intelligence (Al) accelerator, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or other densely patterned semiconductor die.

[0114] In the two-phase immersion cooling system 200 of FIG. 2, heat flows from the semiconductor die 250 where it is generated into the heat spreader 252. The heat spreader 252 is in thermal contact with an immersion cooling liquid 264 that can flow over and extract heat from the heat spreader 252. The amount of heat delivered by the heat spreader 252 to the immersion cooling liquid 264 is enough to boil the immersion cooling liquid 264 that contacts the heat spreader 252 (creating bubbles 265 and potentially creating froth 267 when bubbles 265 reach the surface of immersion cooling liquid 264). The vapor 266 from the boiled immersion cooling liquid 264 can be cooled and condensed back to liquid droplets 268, for example, by the condenser tube 270. The heat-transfer fluid, such as chilled water, from the chiller 280 can be circulated through the condenser tube 270 to lower the temperature of the condenser tube 270 below the condensation point in the headspace 208 of the tank 220. As a result, vapor 266 condenses on exterior surfaces of the condenser tube 270 and liquid droplets 268 from the condensed vapor can drip and / or flow back to the immersion cooling liquid 264. There may be a plurality of condenser tubes 270 in tank 220 to condense the vapor 266 into droplets. Some or all of the condenser tubes 270 may or may not be located directly over the PCBs 257. Instead, the condenser tube(s) 270 can be located near one or more walls of the tank 220, such that the condenser tube(s) 270 are not directly over the PCBs 257 on which the packages 205 are mounted.

[0115] To improve thermal performance in two-phase immersion cooling system 200, the heat spreader 252 can include a boiling enhancement coating (BEC) on at least one surface. The BEC can be formed from copper or a copper alloy and can be porous, for example, though BECs can take various forms. In some cases, the BEC is a micro porous copper coating having a thickness from approximately or exactly 50 microns to 500 microns thick (which may be produced by electroplating and / or etching). In some implementations, the BEC comprises a mesh copper layer bonded (e.g., via resistance heating) to at least an outer surface of the heat spreader 252. In some cases, the BEC is applied as particulates to at least one smooth surface of the heat spreader 252 and then subsequently sintered to adhere to one another and to the heat spreader 252. The BEC provides an improved surface area to contact the immersion cooling liquid 264 and can increase the heat transfer coefficient from the heat spreader 252 to the immersion cooling liquid 264 by up to a factor of 15 versus a smooth surface on the heatspreader 252. Accordingly, BECs can increase thermal conductivity to, and accelerate the boiling of, the immersion cooling liquid 264.

[0116] Further implementations of boiling enhancement coatings and enclosures are possible. Additional arrangements, applications, and methods of use of boiling enhancement coatings and enclosures, including with semiconductor dies and 3DIC stacks, are described in the below U.S. Patent Applications.

[0117] U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 327,615, filed June 1, 2023 and entitled "Boiler Enhancement Coatings with Active Boiling Management,” discloses heat spreader and boiling enhancement enclosure architectures thermally and / or mechanically coupled to one or more semiconductor dies or logic ICs that may be used for passive and / or active management of immersion cooling fluid boiling, including through the use of valves to control pressure of boiling immersion cooling fluid within a boiling enhancement chamber, particularly in paragraphs

[0018] -

[0039] and FIGS. 3-5B. The entirety of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 327,615 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0118] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 500,167, filed May 4, 2023 and entitled “Direct to Chip Heat Spreader and Boiler Enhancement Coatings for Microelectronics,” discloses heat spreader and BECs thermally and / or mechanically coupled to one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks, particularly in paragraphs

[0015] -

[0033] and FIGS. 2A-4. BEC form factors may include graphite heat spreader architectures, vapor chambers, heat pipes, copper plates, fins, and the like. BEC form factors may be thermally and / or mechanically coupled to the one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks through a thermally conductive epoxy, and may have varying dimensions relative to a surface to which the semiconductor dies and / or logic ICs are mounted. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 500,167 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0119] U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 460,091, filed September 1, 2023 and entitled “Direct to Chip Application of Boiling Enhancement Coating,” discloses BECs and methods for applying BECs to semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks in accordance with the present technology. In particular, paragraphs

[0024] -

[0046] and FIGS. 2A-5 disclose embodiments of BEC layers, adhesives, solders, sintering, laser ablation, meshes, and other BECs and BEC application methods. The entirety of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 460,091 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0120] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 506,945, filed June 8, 2023 and entitled “Vapor-Shedding Structures for Boiler Plates in Two-Phase Immersion CoolingSystems,” discloses structures that may be thermally and / or mechanically coupled to computing hardware such as one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks to enable the shedding of immersion cooling vapors generated from the boiling of immersion cooling fluid during operation of the computing hardware. In particular, paragraphs

[0021] -

[0039] and FIGS. 3 A- 5 disclose vapor-shedding structures including varying porosities, constituent materials, and geometries relative to the computing hardware on which they are mounted. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 506,945 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0121] U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 513,828, filed July 14, 2023 and entitled “Grinding Apparatuses and Methods for Mechanically Modifying Surfaces of Processors to Promote Boiling of a Coolant Liquid,” discloses methods for creating boiling enhancement modifications to surfaces such as the surfaces of computing hardware such as one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks, particularly in paragraphs

[0036] -

[0095] and FIGS. 2A-8. For example, grooves, patterns, gouges, trenches, or other structures may be added to a surface or lid of a processor, semiconductor die, logic IC, 3DIC stack component, and / or BEC to encourage nucleation sites for bubbles of immersion cooling vapor to form during a cooling process, thus decreasing the thermal resistance between the processor, semiconductor die, logic IC, and / or 3DIC stack component and the surrounding immersion cooling fluid. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 513,828 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0122] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 513,829, filed July 14, 2023 and entitled “Electrical Connector Having a Heater to Facilitate Boiling of a Coolant Liquid to Improve Signal Integrity in Immersion Cooling Environment,” discloses heaters for promoting boiling of immersion cooling fluid near electrical connectors such as connections between components of a 3DIC stack and enable improved impedances at those connectors, particularly in paragraphs

[0019] -

[0052] and FIGS. 1A-3B. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 513,829 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0123] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 603,242, filed November 28, 2023 and entitled “Woven Boiler Enhancement Coatings,” provides additional examples of BECs including woven BECs with variable weave patterns, densities, attachment mechanisms, and materials (including copper and tungsten) that may be attached to computing hardware such as one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks in order to promote more efficient heat transfer and immersion cooling vapor nucleation, particularly in paragraphs

[0031] -

[0055] and FIGS. 3-7. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 603,242 is incorporated herein by reference.Conclusion

[0124] While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and / or structures for performing the function and / or obtaining the results and / or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and / or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and / or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is / are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and / or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and / or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and / or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

[0125] Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

[0126] All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and / or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

[0127] The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

[0128] The phrase “and / or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and / or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elementsso conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and / or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and / or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

[0129] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and / or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and / or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of’ or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e., “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

[0130] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and / or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

[0131] In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of’ and “consisting essentially of’ shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.

[0132] Section 2: FIG. 2.1 depicts an apparatus 2100 for contamination monitoring within an immersion cooling system. The immersion cooling system may include an immersion cooling container 2130 at least partially filled with immersion cooling liquid 2140. The immersion cooling system may further include computing hardware such as one or more semiconductor dies, logic chips, etc., configured to perform calculations such as video processing, artificial intelligence (Al) training and inference, mathematical model calculations, and the like. An example of an immersion cooling system used in accordance with the present technology is further illustrated in FIG. 2.3.

[0133] Apparatus 2100 may include a controller 2102 configured to operate and monitor parameters of apparatus 2100. Apparatus 2100 may further include first electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110b, which are communicatively and electrically coupled to controller 2102 through leads 2104. Leads 2104 may be made of copper or any suitable material. First electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110b may be separated by insulating material 2120. Insulating material 2120 may be a ceramic, glass, thermopolymer, thermoset, or any suitable material that acts as an electrical insulator. In an example insulating material 2120 may be a cylinder of ceramic or glass. Insulating material 2120 may be disposed in physical contact with first electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110b, for example, through one or more clips, screws, nails, adhesives, or any suitable attachment mechanism.

[0134] Controller 2102 may be a microprocessor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)), a digital signal processing (DSP) die, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field- programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or other densely patterned semiconductor die. A controller 2102 used in accordance with the present invention may be designed specifically for high reliability, low cost, ability to withstand wider temperature ranges, vibrations, or impacts than typical commercial computers, and resistance to electrical noise. For example, controller 2102 may be programmed using an ICE 61131-3 standard and associated Structured Text and / or Instruction List programming languages. Controller 2102 may be programmed using the LadderDiagram, Function Block Diagram, or Sequential Function Chart graphical programming languages.

[0135] Controller 2102 may store programming instructions on non-volatile memory such as flash memory, or may store programming instructions on battery-powered RAM. In one or more alternative embodiments, controller 2102 may need to be programmed by the physical removal and replacement of built-in memory (e.g., replacement of a flash drive) or by directly connecting to controller 2102, for example, with a USB or similar connection.

[0136] Controller 2102 may be communicatively coupled to a “tank manager” controller configured to control operations of the tank or components inside the tank such as condenser coil flow rate, immersion cooling filter flow rate, server racks or semiconductor dies including throttling, rate limiting, or depowering semiconductor dies within an immersion cooling system, ventilation systems, cooling fans, tank power, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, controller 2102 may be communicatively coupled to a cloud-based control plane such as a distributed computing system programed to monitor and issue commands to a plurality of tanks, immersion cooling systems, servers, computer elements, and the like. In an embodiment, controller 2102 may be embodied as a plurality of hierarchical controllers.

[0137] For example, controller 2102 may be communicatively coupled to a tank manager configured to control one or more immersion cooling tanks and may further include a distributed control plane monitoring the tank manager and programmed to determine one or more actions to take in response to inputs from the tank manager, such as powering down an immersion cooling tank or issuing a notification to a human operator in the event of a malfunction. Controller 2102 may not have the functionality (or permission from the owners / operators of those computing hardware) to communicate with computing hardware immersed within immersion cooling liquid 2140, whereas a tank manager controller or control plane may be operably coupled to computing hardware immersed within immersion cooling liquid 2140 and may be able to checkpoint or save data on immersed computing hardware or adjust, throttle, pause, and / or control processes (e.g., artificial intelligence (Al) model training) running on the immersed computing hardware, for example, if a contamination level exceeds a threshold.

[0138] Insulating material 2120 may include a heater 2122. Heater 2122 may be communicatively coupled to controller 2102 through connection 2106 and disposed in physical and / or thermal contact with (e.g., disposed on an outer surface of, embedded in, etc.) the insulating material 2120. Heater 2122 may be configured to apply heat to insulating material 2120 and to raise a temperature of insulating material 2120 to at least a boiling temperature ofimmersion cooling liquid 2140. Heater 2122 may cause at least a portion of the immersion cooling liquid surrounding the insulating material to boil.

[0139] Immersion cooling liquid 2140 may contain contaminants or other impurities. These impurities may deposit on a surface of the insulating material 2120 and change a resistance between first electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110b as compared to a resistance in the absence of contaminants. Controller 2102 may be configured to measure the resistance and correlate a change in resistance from a first measurement at a first time to a second measurement at a second time with a deposition of contaminants and / or a contamination level.

[0140] These impurities may take the form of particulates, water, active hydrocarbons, decomposition products (such as perfluoroisobutene, carbonyl fluoride, and the like), fluorochemicals, inert hydrocarbons, or similar products. These impurities may have several drawbacks for the operation of immersion cooling systems including causing noise or short circuits to electronics immersed in the immersion cooling fluid, health or fire hazards, or corrosion of components within an immersion cooling system.

[0141] For example, when water is introduced to an immersion cooling system (for example, from the atmosphere when an immersion cooling tank lid is open, or from an accidental spillage of water into an immersion cooling tank from cooling pipes), the water may mix with immersion cooling liquid and form acidic or corrosive compounds. These compounds may significantly disrupt the operation of components within an immersion cooling system, interfere with signal transmission, degrade components or the immersion cooling liquid, or destroy components entirely.

[0142] Controller 2102 may further measure a temperature of insulating material 2120 using one or more sensors (not shown), e.g., sensors that are part of an immersion cooling system in which apparatus 2100 is disposed, or one or more temperature sensors disposed on or in insulating material 2120 and / or heater 2122. Controller 2102 may control a temperature of insulating material 2120 such that at least a portion of insulating material 2120 is a temperature at or above a boiling temperature of immersion cooling liquid 2140. When the temperature of at least a portion of insulating material 2120 is above a boiling temperature of immersion cooling liquid 2140, this may cause the immersion cooling liquid 2140 in physical contact with insulating material 2120 to boil and change a resistance between first electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110b due to a deposition of contamination on insulating material 2120.

[0143] First electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110b may be made of any suitable electrically conductive material. For example, first electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110bmay be made of copper, stainless steel, or the like. Controller 2102 may apply a voltage across first electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110b and measure a corresponding resistance.

[0144] For example, controller 2102 may apply a voltage between first electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110b of about 5 V, about 25 V, about 50 V, about 100 V, about 250 V, about 500 V, about 1,000 V, about 2,000 V, about 5,000 V, about 10,000 V, between about 1 V and about 5 V, between about 1 V and about 10 V, between about 5 V and about 25 V, between about 10 V and about 50 V, between about 25 V and about 100 V, between about 50 V and about 250 V, between about 100 V and about 500 V, between about 250 V and about 1,000 V, between about 500 V and about 5,000 V, between about 1,000 V and about 10,000 V, or any suitable voltage.

[0145] Controller 2102 may be configured to measure a resistance between first electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110b. Controller 2102 may correlate a resistance measurement with an amount of contamination present on insulating material 2120, first electrode 2110a, second electrode 2110b, and / or in immersion cooling liquid 2140. Additionally or alternatively, controller 2102 may correlate a change between a resistance measurement at a first time and a resistance measurement at a second time to an amount of contamination present on insulating material 2120, first electrode 2110a, second electrode 2110b, and / or in immersion cooling liquid 2140. Controller 2102 may be configured to transmit a notification in response to a measured resistance or series of measured resistances. In an embodiment, controller 2102 may be communicatively coupled to a multimeter or other measurement device configured to measure a resistance between first electrode 2110a and second electrode 2110b.

[0146] For example, controller 2102 may measure a resistance of 1 kOhm at a first time and a second resistance of 5 kOhm at a second time. 1 kOhm may indicate that an amount of contamination (equivalently, a contamination level or contamination state) present in immersion cooling liquid 2140 (e.g., in grams of contamination per liter of immersion cooling liquid (g / L), kilograms of contamination per liter of immersion cooling liquid (kg / L), milligrams of contamination per milliliter of immersion cooling liquid (mg / mL), or any suitable unit of contamination) is below a threshold indicating a potential disruption or damage to an immersion cooling system operation. However, a value such as 50 kOhm at a first time and / or 250 kOhm at a second time indicating a contamination level above a threshold may result in suboptimal system operation or system damage.

[0147] In an embodiment, controller 2102 may correlate a value of resistance with a contamination level below a threshold. Controller 2102 may correlate a resistance of belowabout 100 kOhm or less, 80 kOhm or less, 75 kOhm or less, 60 kOhm or less, 50 kOhm or less, 40 kOhm or less, 30 kOhm or less, 25 kOhm or less, 20 kOhm or less, 15 kOhm or less, 12 kOhm or less, 10 kOhm or less, 8 kOhm or less, 6 kOhm or less, 5 kOhm or less, 4 kOhm or less, 3 kOhm or less, 2 kOhm or less, 1 kOhm or less, 500 Ohm or less, 250 Ohm or less, 125 Ohm or less, 100 Ohm or less, 50 Ohm or less, 25 Ohm or less, or any suitable resistance as being below a threshold contamination level.

[0148] In an embodiment, controller 2102 may correlate a value of resistance with a contamination level above a threshold. Controller 2102 may correlate a resistance of above about 250 Ohm or greater, 500 Ohm or greater, 1 kOhm or greater, 1.5 kOhm or greater, 2.5 kOhm or greater, 5 kOhm or greater, 8 kOhm or greater, 10 kOhm or greater, 12 kOhm or greater, 15 kOhm or greater, 20 kOhm or greater, 25 kOhm or greater, 30 kOhm or greater, 40 kOhm or greater, 50 kOhm or greater, 60 kOhm or greater, 75 kOhm or greater, 80 kOhm or greater, 100 kOhm or greater, 150 kOhm or greater, 250 kOhm or greater, 500 kOhm or greater, 1 MOhm or greater, 1.5 MOhm or greater, 2.5 MOhm or greater, 5 MOhm or greater, 10 MOhm or greater, 25 MOhm or greater, 50 MOhm or greater, 100 MOhm or greater, 250 MOhm or greater, 500 MOhm or greater, 1 GOhm or greater, or any suitable resistance as being above a threshold contamination level.

[0149] In an embodiment, controller 2102 may determine a contamination level is below a threshold, but a contamination level is trending upwards over time due to a series of resistance values rising over time. In response, controller 2102 may transmit a notification to any suitable management entity (human or digital), e.g., a technician, PLC, control plane, or the like, in response to determining that a contamination level or trend in contamination level is unacceptable.

[0150] FIG. 2.2 depicts various possible relationships between contamination state in PPM vs. sensor output (measured resistance in Ohms in the illustrated example) in accordance with the present technology. A relationship between sensor output and contamination state is illustrated as a linear relationship 2210 and non-linear relationship 2220. A threshold contamination 2230 may be considered to be reached or exceeded when a measured resistance exceeds resistance threshold 2240 in the case of a linear relationship or resistance threshold 2250 in the case of an example non-linear relationship. The depicted relationships and relative thresholds are exemplary, and may be higher or lower in practice based on a variety of factors including immersion cooling liquid type, immersion cooling liquid temperature, type of computing hardware present in an immersion cooling system, and various other factors.

[0151] A measured resistance may increase asymptotically, quadratically, exponentially (including with an exponent greater or less than 1), and / or linearly with contamination state, or a combination of the foregoing; for example, increasing at a rate of about 0.01 Ohm / PPM, about 0.1 Ohm / PPM, about 1 Ohm / PPM, about 2 Ohm / PPM, about 5 Ohm / PPM, about 10 Ohm / PPM, about 20 Ohm / PPM, about 25 Ohm / PPM, about 50 Ohm / PPM, about 100 Ohm / PPM, about 250 Ohm / PPM, about 500 Ohm / PPM, about 1 kOhm / PPM, about 1.5 kOhm / PPM, about 2 kOhm / PPM, about 2.5 kOhm / PPM, about 5 kOhm / PPM, about 10 kOhm / PPM, about 20 kOhm / PPM, about 25 kOhm / PPM, about 50 kOhm / PPM, about 100 kOhm / PPM, about 250 kOhm / PPM, about 500 kOhm / PPM, about 1 MOhm / PPM, about 2 MOhm / PPM, about 2.5 MOhm / PPM, about 5 MOhm / PPM, about 10 MOhm / PPM, about 20 MOhm / PPM, about 25 MOhm / PPM, about 50 MOhm / PPM, about 100 MOhm / PPM, about 250 MOhm / PPM, about 500 MOhm / PPM, about 1 GOhm / PPM, about 5 GOhm / PPM, or any suitable rate.

[0152] In an embodiment, a measured resistance may be between about 0.01 Ohm / PPM and about 0.1 Ohm / PPM, between about 0.1 Ohm / PPM and about 1 Ohm / PPM, between about 1 Ohm / PPM and about 2.5 Ohm / PPM, between about 1 Ohm / PPM and about 5 Ohm / PPM, between about 5 Ohm / PPM and about 10 Ohm / PPM, between about 10 Ohm / PPM and about 25 Ohm / PPM, between about 25 Ohm / PPM and about 50 Ohm / PPM, between about 50 Ohm / PPM and about 100 Ohm / PPM, between about 75 Ohm / PPM and about 250 Ohm / PPM, between about 100 Ohm / PPM and about 500 Ohm / PPM, between about 250 Ohm / PPM and about 1000 Ohm / PPM, between about 1 kOhm / PPM and about 5 kOhm / PPM, between about 2.5 kOhm / PPM and about 7.5 kOhm / PPM, between about 5 kOhm / PPM and about 10 kOhm / PPM, between about 10 kOhm / PPM and about 50 kOhm / PPM, between about 25 kOhm / PPM and about 100 kOhm / PPM, between about 50 kOhm / PPM and about 250 kOhm / PPM, between about 100 kOhm / PPM and about 500 kOhm / PPM, between about 500 kOhm / PPM and about 1 MOhm / PPM, between about 750 kOhm / PPM and about 2.5 MOhm / PPM, between about 1 MOhm / PPM and about 5 MOhm / PPM, between about 2.5 MOhm / PPM and about 7.5 MOhm / PPM, between about 5 MOhm / PPM and about 10 MOhm / PPM, between about 10 MOhm / PPM and about 25 MOhm / PPM, between about 20 MOhm / PPM and about 50 MOhm / PPM, between about 25 MOhm / PPM and about 100 MOhm / PPM, between about 100 MOhm / PPM and about 500 MOhm / PPM, between about 500 MOhm / PPM and about 1 GOhm / PPM, between about 750 MOhm / PPM and about 2.5 GOhm / PPM, between about 1 GOhm / PPM and about 5 GOhm / PPM, between about 2.5 GOhm / PPM and about 10 GOhm / PPM, or any suitable range.

[0153] A threshold for an unacceptable contamination amount may be reached at any suitable contamination state. For example, a threshold for contamination may be about 1 PPM, about 2 PPM, about 5 PPM, about 8 PPM, about 10 PPM, about 12 PPM, about 15 PPM, about 20 PPM, about 25 PPM, about 30 PPM, about 35 PPM, about 40 PPM, about 45 PPM, about 50 PPM, about 55 PPM, about 60 PPM, about 65 PPM, about 70 PPM, about 75 PPM, about 80 PPM, about 85 PPM, about 90 PPM, about 95 PPM, about 100 PPM, about 110 PPM, about 125 PPM, about 150 PPM, about 200 PPM, about 250 PPM, about 500 PPM, about 1000 PPM, about 5000 PPM, or any suitable PPM.

[0154] A threshold for an unacceptable contamination amount may be between about 0.1 PPM to about 0.5 PPM, between about 0.5 PPM and about 1 PPM, between about 1 PPM and about 2 PPM, between about 2 PPM and about 5 PPM, between about 5 PPM and about 8 PPM, between about 7 PPM and about 10 PPM, between about 10 PPM and about 15 PPM, between about 12 PPM and about 25 PPM, between about 15 PPM and about 30 PPM, between about 20 PPM and about 35 PPM, between about 25 PPM and about 40 PPM, between about 30 PPM and about 50 PPM, between about 35 PPM and about 55 PPM, between about 40 PPM and about 75 PPM, between about 50 PPM and about 80 PPM, between about 60 PPM and about 90 PPM, between about 75 PPM and about 100 PPM, between about 80 PPM and about 120 PPM, between about 100 PPM and about 125 PPM, between about 100 PPM and about 150 PPM, between about 125 PPM and about 175 PPM, between about 150 PPM and about 200 PPM, between about 200 PPM and about 500 PPM, between about 500 PPM and about 1000 PPM, between about 1000 PPM and about 2500 PPM, between about 1000 PPM and about 5000 PPM, or between any suitable range of contamination.

[0155] In an embodiment, a measured resistance indicate a threshold unacceptable contamination amount has been reached. For example, controller 2102 may determine that a threshold contamination has been reached in response to apparatus 2100 indicating a measured resistance of about 0.01 Ohm, about 0.1 Ohm, about 1 Ohm, about 2 Ohm, about 5 Ohm, about 10 Ohm, about 20 Ohm, about 25 Ohm, about 50 Ohm, about 100 Ohm, about 250 Ohm, about 500 Ohm, about 1 kOhm, about 1.5 kOhm, about 2 kOhm, about 2.5 kOhm, about 5 kOhm, about 10 kOhm, about 20 kOhm, about 25 kOhm, about 50 kOhm, about 100 kOhm, about 250 kOhm, about 500 kOhm, about 1 MOhm, about 2 MOhm, about 2.5 MOhm, about 5 MOhm, about 10 MOhm, about 20 MOhm, about 25 MOhm, about 50 MOhm, about 100 MOhm, about 250 MOhm, about 500 MOhm, about 1 GOhm, about 5 GOhm, or any suitable resistance.

[0156] Controller 2102 may determine that an unacceptable contamination amount has been reached in response to apparatus 2100 indicating a measured resistance between a range of values, for example, between about 0.01 Ohm and about 0.1 Ohm, between about 0.1 Ohm and about 1 Ohm, between about 1 Ohm and about 2.5 Ohm, between about 1 Ohm and about 5 Ohm, between about 5 Ohm and about 10 Ohm, between about 10 Ohm and about 25 Ohm, between about 25 Ohm and about 50 Ohm, between about 50 Ohm and about 100 Ohm, between about 75 Ohm and about 250 Ohm, between about 100 Ohm and about 500 Ohm, between about 250 Ohm and about 1000 Ohm, between about 1 kOhm and about 5 kOhm, between about 2.5 kOhm and about 7.5 kOhm, between about 5 kOhm and about 10 kOhm, between about 10 kOhm and about 50 kOhm, between about 25 kOhm and about 100 kOhm, between about 50 kOhm and about 250 kOhm, between about 100 kOhm and about 500 kOhm, between about 500 kOhm and about 1 MOhm, between about 750 kOhm and about 2.5 MOhm, between about 1 MOhm and about 5 MOhm, between about 2.5 MOhm and about 7.5 MOhm, between about 5 MOhm and about 10 MOhm, between about 10 MOhm and about 25 MOhm, between about 20 MOhm and about 50 MOhm, between about 25 MOhm and about 100 MOhm, between about 100 MOhm and about 500 MOhm, between about 500 MOhm and about 1 GOhm, between about 750 MOhm and about 2.5 GOhm, between about 1 GOhm and about 5 GOhm, between about 2.5 GOhm and about 10 GOhm, or any suitable range.

[0157] Controller 2102 may determine that a threshold contamination has been reached in response to apparatus 2100 indicating a measured resistance has increased by a threshold percentage from a first measurement at a first time to a second measurement at a second time, for example, an increase of about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 8%, about 10%, about 12%, about 15%, about 20%, about 25%, about 35%, about 50%, about 75%, about 100%, about 125%, about 150%, about 175%, about 250%, about 300%, about 400%, about 500%, about 600%, about 700%, about 800%, about 900%, about 1,000%, about 1,250%, about 1,500%, about 2,000%, about 2500%, about 5,000%, about 8,000%, about 10,000%, about 15,000%, about 20,000%, about 50,000%, about 100,000%, about 500,000%, about 1,000,000%, or any suitable percentage.

[0158] Controller 2102 may determine that a threshold contamination has been reached in response to apparatus 2100 indicating a measured resistance has increased by a range of threshold percentages from a first measurement at a first time to a second measurement at a second time, for example, an increase of between about 1% to about 2%, about 1% to about 3%, about 2% to about 5%, about 5% to about 8%, about 5% to about 10%, about 8% to about 12%,about 10% to about 15%, about 15% to about 20%, about 18% to about 25%, about 25% to about 35%, about 30% to about 50%, about 50% to about 75%, about 65% to about 100%, about 90% to about 125%, about 100% to about 150%, about 125% to about 175%, about 150% to about 250%, about 200% to about 300%, about 250% to about 400%, about 300% to about 500%, about 400% to about 600%, about 500% to about 700%, about 600% to about 800%, about 750% to about 900%, about 800% to about 1,000%, about 1,000% to about 1,250%, about 1,000% to about 1,500%, about 1,500% to about 2,000%, about 1,750% to about 2500%, about 2,000% to about 5,000%, about 4,000% to about 8,000%, about 6,000% to about 10,000%, about 10,000% to about 15,000%, about 12,000% to about 20,000%, about 15,000% to about 25,000%, about 25,000% to about 50,000%, about 50,000% to about 100,000%, about 100,000% to about 500,000%, about 500,000% to about 1,000,000%, or any suitable range of percentages.

[0159] FIG. 2.3 depicts aspects of an immersion cooling system 2300 for dissipating heat from one or more heat-generating components such as semiconductor die packages 2305 via immersion cooling. Each package 2305 can include one or more semiconductor dies that produce heat when the system is in operation. The immersion cooling system 2300 in the illustrated example of FIG. 2.3 is a two-phase immersion cooling system, though the invention may also be implemented in a single-phase immersion cooling system.

[0160] Immersion cooling system 2300 includes a container such as tank 2320 filled, at least in part, with immersion cooling liquid 2364. The immersion cooling system 2300 can further include at least one chiller 2380 that flows a heat-transfer fluid through at least one condenser tube 2370 that is disposed in the tank 2320 and headspace 2308. Condenser tubes 2370 and chiller 2380 may be part of a heat exchanger. The packages 2305 can be mounted on one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) 2357 that are immersed, at least in part, in the immersion cooling liquid 2364. Immersion-cooling system 2300 may further include a filter 2375 disposed adjacent to the tank 2320.

[0161] Filter 2375 may include a filtration media, a housing, and a pump configured to force immersion cooling liquid 2364 through filter 2375 to remove contaminants, particulates, or other impurities that may be added to immersion cooling liquid 2364 during use. Filter 2375 may be housed outside of tank 2320 while being in fluidic communication with immersion cooling liquid 2364 in tank 2320. Alternatively, filter 2375 may be submerged within immersion cooling liquid 2364 inside of tank 2320.

[0162] Immersion cooling liquid 2364 may be a hydrocarbon, a fluoroketone, an oil, or a similar dielectric liquid that will act as an insulator while simultaneously transferring heat frompackage 2305 more efficiently than air. Examples of immersion cooling liquid 2364 are Novec™ 649, Novec™ 7000, and Novec™ 7100 produced by 3M™. An exemplary immersion cooling liquid 2364 used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may have a dielectric constant baseline value of about 1.8-2 at a frequency of about 1 kHz.

[0163] In an embodiment of the invention, immersion cooling liquid 2364 may be considered unacceptably contaminated if the dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent of immersion cooling fluid being used in an immersion cooling system 2300 differs by a threshold amount as compared to unused or pure immersion cooling liquid 2364. For example, immersion cooling liquid 2364 may be considered unacceptably contaminated or degraded if the dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent differs by a threshold of 10% or more as compared to unused or pure immersion cooling liquid 2364. In an embodiment, a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent variation threshold may be 20%, 15%, 5%, 3%, 1%, or any suitable threshold.

[0164] Contamination of the immersion cooling liquid 2364 and resulting changes to dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may alter or negatively impact operation of components within immersion cooling liquid 2364 including semiconductor die(s) 2350. An altered dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may result in undesirable cross-talk between components on a PCB, additional noise or reduction in signal strength transmitted along exposed wires of a PCB or semiconductor die(s) 2350 submerged in immersion fluid, and / or signal dissipation through the immersion cooling liquid 2364. Signal loss may be severe enough that two elements may be effectively represented as being separated by an open circuit despite being physically connected. In an embodiment, a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent variation threshold may be selected based on an observed or inferred effect on one or more submerged semiconductor die(s) 2350. For example, an increase in PCIe bit error rate above an error rate baseline may be correlated with an increase in dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent above a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent baseline. Accordingly, operation of semiconductor die(s) 2350 may be throttled or suspended when a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent of immersion cooling liquid 2364 exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0165] Changes to dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may be caused by contaminants within immersion cooling liquid 2364. In some cases, changes to dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may be reversed by filtering the contaminants from immersion cooling liquid 2364. In some embodiments, upon detecting an increase in dielectricconstant and / or dielectric loss tangent of immersion cooling liquid 2364, controller 2302 may instruct filter 2375 to increase filtration throughput or notify a user that an immersion cooling liquid 2364 filtration media may need to be replaced. If a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent exceeds a predetermined threshold, controller 2302 may throttle or shut down one or more semiconductor die(s) 2350, generate a notification that immersion cooling liquid 2364 should be replaced, trigger an alarm, etc.

[0166] Further examples of sensors and methods for immersion cooling contamination monitoring may include probes for monitoring immersion cooling liquid parameters such as dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent, and processors configured to identify trends in sensor data, model immersion cooling system behavior as a function of contamination, and alter operations of immersion cooling systems based on detected levels and / or states of contamination may be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63 / 516,748, filed July 31, 2023 and entitled “Di-Electric Monitoring of Immersion Fluid During Cooling Operation,” the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0167] The illustrated example of FIG. 2.3 is not intended to be to scale. The immersion cooling system 2300 may house and provide immersion cooling liquid 2364 to tens, hundreds, or even thousands of packages 2305. In some cases, the immersion cooling system 2300 can be small (e.g., the size of a floor unit air conditioner, approximately 1 meter high, 0.5 meter width, 0.5 meter depth or length). In some implementations, the immersion cooling system can be large (e.g., the size of a van or larger, approximately 2.5 meters high, 2.5 meters width, 4 meters depth or length).

[0168] The immersion cooling system 2300 can also include a controller 2302 (e.g., a microcontroller, programmable logic controller (PLC), microprocessor, field-programmable gate array, logic circuitry, memory, or some combination thereof) to manage system operation. Controller 2302 can perform various system functions such as monitoring temperatures of system components, cooling fluid level, tank access, chiller operation, etc. The controller 2302 can further issue commands to control system operation such as executing a start-up sequence, executing a shut-down sequence, assigning workloads among the packages, changing cooling fluid level, changing the temperature of the heat-transfer fluid circulated by the chiller 2380, etc. In some implementations, controller 2302 can include (or itself be) a baseboard management controller (BMC) 2304. That is, the BMC 2304 may monitor and control all aspects of system operation for the immersion cooling system 2300 in addition to monitoring and controlling workloads of the semiconductor dies 2350 in the packages 2305 cooled by the system. Theimmersion cooling system 2300 can also include a network interface controller (NIC 2303) to allow the system to communicate over a network, such as a local area network or wide area network. The immersion cooling system 2300 can further include a fluid sensor array 2390 having a plurality of fluid sensors 2310. Fluid sensors 2310 may include one or more leak detection sensors at least partially submerged in immersion cooling liquid 2364.

[0169] The semiconductor die(s) 2350 and can be mounted on and attached to a printed circuit board (PCB) 2355 (sometimes referred to as a substrate) in device package 2305. The package 2305 can be made commercially available as an off-the-shelf (OTS) product. The package 2305 can be used for single-phase or two-phase immersion cooling of at least one semiconductor die 2350, such as a microprocessor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) and / or graphics processing unit (GPU)), voltage regulator (VR), high bandwidth memory (HBM), a digital signal processing (DSP) die, an artificial intelligence (Al) accelerator, an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or other densely patterned semiconductor die.

[0170] In the two-phase immersion cooling system 2300 of FIG. 2.3, heat flows from the semiconductor die 2350 where it is generated into the heat spreader 2352. The heat spreader 2352 is in thermal contact with an immersion cooling liquid 2364 that can flow over and extract heat from the heat spreader 2352. The amount of heat delivered by the heat spreader 2352 to the immersion cooling liquid 2364 is enough to boil the immersion cooling liquid 2364 that contacts the heat spreader 2352 (creating bubbles 2365 and potentially creating froth 2367 when bubbles 2365 reach the surface of immersion cooling liquid 2364). The vapor 2366 from the boiled immersion cooling liquid 2364 can be cooled and condensed back to liquid droplets 2368, for example, by the condenser tube 2370. The heat-transfer fluid, such as chilled water, from the chiller 2380 can be circulated through the condenser tube 2370 to lower the temperature of the condenser tube 2370 below the condensation point in the headspace 2308 of the tank 2320. As a result, vapor 2366 condenses on exterior surfaces of the condenser tube 2370 and liquid droplets 2368 from the condensed vapor can drip and / or flow back to the immersion cooling liquid 2364. There may be a plurality of condenser tubes 2370 in tank 2320 to condense the vapor 2366 into droplets. Some or all of the condenser tubes 2370 may or may not be located directly over the PCBs 2357. Instead, the condenser tube(s) 2370 can be located near one or more walls of the tank 2320, such that the condenser tube(s) 2370 are not directly over the PCBs 2357 on which the packages 2305 are mounted.

[0171] To improve thermal performance in two-phase immersion cooling system 2300, the heat spreader 2352 can include a boiling enhancement coating (BEC) on at least one surface. The BEC can be formed from copper or a copper alloy and can be porous, for example, though BECs can take various forms. In some cases, the BEC is a micro porous copper coating having a thickness from approximately or exactly 50 microns to 500 microns thick (which may be produced by electroplating and / or etching). In some implementations, the BEC comprises a mesh copper layer bonded (e.g., via resistance heating) to at least an outer surface of the heat spreader 2352. In some cases, the BEC is applied as particulates to at least one smooth surface of the heat spreader 2352 and then subsequently sintered to adhere to one another and to the heat spreader 2352. The BEC provides an improved surface area to contact the immersion cooling liquid 2364 and can increase the heat transfer coefficient from the heat spreader 2352 to the immersion cooling liquid 2364 by up to a factor of 15 versus a smooth surface on the heat spreader 2352. Accordingly, BECs can increase thermal conductivity to, and accelerate the boiling of, the immersion cooling liquid 2364.

[0172] Further implementations of boiling enhancement coatings and enclosures are possible. Additional arrangements, applications, and methods of use of boiling enhancement coatings and enclosures, including with semiconductor dies and 3DIC stacks, are described in the below U.S. Patent Applications.

[0173] U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 327,615, filed June 1, 2023 and entitled "Boiler Enhancement Coatings with Active Boiling Management,” discloses heat spreader and boiling enhancement enclosure architectures thermally and / or mechanically coupled to one or more semiconductor dies or logic ICs that may be used for passive and / or active management of immersion cooling fluid boiling, including through the use of valves to control pressure of boiling immersion cooling fluid within a boiling enhancement chamber, particularly in paragraphs

[0018] -

[0039] and FIGS. 3-5B. The entirety of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 327,615 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0174] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 500,167, filed May 4, 2023 and entitled “Direct to Chip Heat Spreader and Boiler Enhancement Coatings for Microelectronics,” discloses heat spreader and BECs thermally and / or mechanically coupled to one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks, particularly in paragraphs

[0015] -

[0033] and FIGS. 2A-4. BEC form factors may include graphite heat spreader architectures, vapor chambers, heat pipes, copper plates, fins, and the like. BEC form factors may be thermally and / or mechanically coupled to the one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DICstacks through a thermally conductive epoxy, and may have varying dimensions relative to a surface to which the semiconductor dies and / or logic ICs are mounted. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 500,167 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0175] U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 460,091, filed September 1, 2023 and entitled “Direct to Chip Application of Boiling Enhancement Coating,” discloses BECs and methods for applying BECs to semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks in accordance with the present technology. In particular, paragraphs

[0024] -

[0046] and FIGS. 2A-5 disclose embodiments of BEC layers, adhesives, solders, sintering, laser ablation, meshes, and other BECs and BEC application methods. The entirety of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 460,091 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0176] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 506,945, filed June 8, 2023 and entitled “Vapor-Shedding Structures for Boiler Plates in Two-Phase Immersion Cooling Systems,” discloses structures that may be thermally and / or mechanically coupled to computing hardware such as one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks to enable the shedding of immersion cooling vapors generated from the boiling of immersion cooling fluid during operation of the computing hardware. In particular, paragraphs

[0021] -

[0039] and FIGS. 3 A- 5 disclose vapor-shedding structures including varying porosities, constituent materials, and geometries relative to the computing hardware on which they are mounted. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 506,945 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0177] U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 513,828, filed July 14, 2023 and entitled “Grinding Apparatuses and Methods for Mechanically Modifying Surfaces of Processors to Promote Boiling of a Coolant Liquid,” discloses methods for creating boiling enhancement modifications to surfaces such as the surfaces of computing hardware such as one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks, particularly in paragraphs

[0036] -

[0095] and FIGS. 2A-8. For example, grooves, patterns, gouges, trenches, or other structures may be added to a surface or lid of a processor, semiconductor die, logic IC, 3DIC stack component, and / or BEC to encourage nucleation sites for bubbles of immersion cooling vapor to form during a cooling process, thus decreasing the thermal resistance between the processor, semiconductor die, logic IC, and / or 3DIC stack component and the surrounding immersion cooling fluid. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 513,828 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0178] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 513,829, filed July 14, 2023 and entitled “Electrical Connector Having a Heater to Facilitate Boiling of a Coolant Liquid to Improve Signal Integrity in Immersion Cooling Environment,” discloses heaters for promotingboiling of immersion cooling fluid near electrical connectors such as connections between components of a 3DIC stack and enable improved impedances at those connectors, particularly in paragraphs

[0019] -

[0052] and FIGS. 1A-3B. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 513,829 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0179] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 603,242, filed November 28, 2023 and entitled “Woven Boiler Enhancement Coatings,” provides additional examples of BECs including woven BECs with variable weave patterns, densities, attachment mechanisms, and materials (including copper and tungsten) that may be attached to computing hardware such as one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks in order to promote more efficient heat transfer and immersion cooling vapor nucleation, particularly in paragraphs

[0031] -

[0055] and FIGS. 3-7. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 603,242 is incorporated herein by reference.Conclusion

[0180] While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and / or structures for performing the function and / or obtaining the results and / or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and / or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and / or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is / are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and / or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and / or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and / or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

[0181] Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

[0182] All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and / or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

[0183] The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

[0184] The phrase “and / or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and / or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and / or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and / or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

[0185] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and / or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and / or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of’ or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e., “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

[0186] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and / or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

[0187] In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of’ and “consisting essentially of’ shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.

[0188] Section 3: FIG. 3.1 illustrates a server 3100 in accordance with the present technology. Server 3100 may be a high-performance computing server such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) server configured for performing artificial intelligence (Al) training or inference, video processing, mathematical model computation, or any suitable computation. Server 3100 may include one or more logic ICs 3120 mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB 3110). PCB 3110 may include traces, ball grid arrays (BGAs), sensors, leads, inputs, outputs, networking hardware including switches and cables, and / or additional electrical components.

[0189] Controller 3102 and / or logic ICs 3120 may include one or more processors, microprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or other logic ICs configured to perform calculations. Each of logic ICs 3120 may additionally or alternatively be embodied as a system- on-a-chip (SoC), three-dimensional integrated circuit (3DIC) stack, central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), tensor processing unit (TPU), data processing unit(DPU), voltage regulator (VR), high bandwidth memory (HBM), digital signal processor (DSP), artificial intelligence (Al) accelerator, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field- programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or other densely patterned semiconductor die.

[0190] Controller 3102 and / or logic ICs 3120 may further include one or more memory modules such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), flash memory, solid-state memory (SSD), non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM, such as a floating-gate ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), one-time programmable ROM (OTPROM), or the like), or any suitable type of memory module. Controller 3102 may include one or more registers, data buffers, inputs and / or outputs (e.g., inter-integrated circuit ports, serial ports, busses, parallel ports, wireless transmitters and receivers, universal serial bus (USB) ports, controller area network (CAN) busses, etc.), sensors (e.g., temperature, voltage, current, or similar sensors), and the like.

[0191] Controller 3102 may be a baseboard management controller (BMC) configured to control one or more operational parameters of server 3100 including operational parameters of logic ICs 3120. For example, controller 3102 may throttle, rate limit, or depower logic ICs 3120. Controller 3102 may control a voltage, a current, a resistance, a capacitance, a temperature, a flow rate, a frequency, a power, a storage of energy, an operation of a battery, or any suitable operational parameter of logic ICs 3120.

[0192] Server 3100 may include first logic IC 3120a and second logic IC 3120b (collectively, logic ICs 3120). In an embodiment, server 3100 may include four or more logic ICs, six or more logic ICs, eight or more logic ICs, 16 or more logic ICs, 24 or more logic ICs, 32 or more logic ICs, 64 or more logic ICs, or any suitable number of logic ICs.

[0193] Server 3100 may include sensors 3130a-f (collectively, sensors 3130), each of which may be configured to measure and / or detect one or more parameters indicating a presence of contaminants within immersion cooling liquid and / or immersion cooling liquid quality including signal integrity, permeability, permittivity, electric field, magnetic field, voltage, current, resistance, capacitance, dendrite growth, and corrosion. Sensors 3130 may be communicatively coupled to controller 3102 and configured to transmit measurements, telemetry, and / or data related to contamination within immersion cooling liquid 3140 to controller 3102. Sensors 3130 may be part of a multimeter, vector network analyzer (VNA), data acquisition (DAQ) device, power meter, logic analyzer, frequency counter, or any suitable instrument.

[0194] Sensors 3130 may be grouped together as part of a sensor suite, or may be distributed across server 3100. In an embodiment, one or more of sensors 3130 may be disposed adjacent to or in contact with logic ICs 3120, e.g., to measure dendrite growth near or on logic ICs 3120 and / or measure permeability, permittivity, temperature, resistance, voltage, current, presence of water, or any suitable parameter of the immersion cooling liquid in an area proximal to logic ICs 3120.

[0195] A sensor 3130 may include a controlled impedance network to sense changes in signal integrity (e.g., deposited contamination that interferes with signal transmission across a surface-mounted PCB trace, corrosion that electrically insulates a formerly conductive connection, deposited contamination that displaces a component or portion of collectively logic ICs 3120, and the like). Further, sensors 3130 may measure induced deposition of contaminants (e.g., induced through an electric or magnetic field), such as by measuring capacitance, resistance, impedance, etc., between two nodes or points that have been exposed to a known electric or magnetic field of a known value for a known duration. Sensors 3130 may include one or more alternating current (AC) and / or direct current (DC) current sources for providing heating, measurement signals, and controlled modification of the immersion cooling liquid. By carefully controlling the relevant parameters, durations, and measurements, server 3100 may provide a calibrated measurement of contamination, which may then be used to take preventive measures before computing hardware is damaged by the contamination.

[0196] In an embodiment, sensors 3130 may detect a variety of contaminants including accumulated hydrocarbons, bromides, salts, water, formic acid, and the like. For example, sensors 3130 may be configured to measure quantities and concentrations of hydrocarbons based on a density of the hydrocarbons in immersion cooling liquid 3140.

[0197] Controller 3102 may be configured to perform one or more calculations on data received from sensors 3130. For example, controller 3102 may store measurements from sensors 3130 over time and compute trends, determine an immersion cooling liquid status, determine a presence or absence of contamination, determine immersion cooling liquid breakdown, or the like. For example, controller 3102 may measure a permittivity of immersion cooling liquid over time and determine that the permittivity of the immersion cooling liquid is trending down, indicating that a contaminant level is steadily rising. As an additional or alternative example, controller 3102 may measure a resistance over time between two sensors of sensors 3130 (e.g., a resistance between sensor 3130a and sensor 3130b). If the resistance increases to beyond aresistance threshold (e.g., indicates an open circuit) in a short time, controller 3102 may determine that a contamination level in the immersion cooling liquid is unacceptably high.

[0198] Controller 3102 may take repeated measurements from sensors 3130 at predetermined intervals, such as once per second, once per minute, or the like. Controller 3102 may adjust a measurement interval based on a contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid. For example, if an immersion cooling liquid contamination state is “no contamination,” then controller 3102 may sample sensors 3130 once per minute. If the contamination state changes to “low,” then controller 3102 may sample sensors 3130 once every 30 seconds. If the contamination state increases once again to “medium,” then controller 3102 may sample sensors 3130 once every 15 seconds, and the like.

[0199] A contamination state (e.g., “low,” “medium,” “high,” etc.) may correspond to an amount of contamination per unit volume of immersion cooling liquid (e.g., in grams of contamination per liter of immersion cooling liquid (g / L), kilograms of contamination per liter of immersion cooling liquid (kg / L), milligrams of contamination per milliliter of immersion cooling liquid (mg / mL), parts per million (PPM), or any suitable unit of contamination). In an embodiment, a contamination state may correspond to an amount of contamination per unit volume of immersion cooling liquid between a range. For example, a contamination state of “medium” may correspond to an amount of contamination per unit volume of between about 0.1 kg / L and about 1 kg / L. Additionally or alternatively, a contamination state of “high” may correspond to an amount of contamination of greater than about 100 ppm.

[0200] Controller 3102 may be communicatively coupled with one or more controllers external to apparatus 3100 such as tank manager controller 3220 of immersion cooling system 3200 or similar immersion cooling tank BMC, immersion cooling tank programmable logic controller (PLC), cloud-based control plane, facility management control system, or any suitable digital or human controller. Controller 3102 may be configured to transmit a notification to an external controller and alert the controller that an immersion cooling liquid has reached or exceeded a threshold level of contamination based on the contamination state determined by controller 3102. Additionally or alternatively, controller 3102 may transmit a notification to an external controller if there is no contamination detected in the immersion cooling liquid.

[0201] A contamination state may be used to control an operation of server 3100 and / or an immersion cooling system in which server 3100 is disposed. For example, if a contamination state is determined to be higher than a permissible threshold, controller 3102 may additionally or alternatively alter an operational parameter of logic ICs 3120 in response to determining acontamination state exceeds a threshold, including frequency, power, computation speed, voltage, current, temperature, or any suitable operational parameter. For example, controller 3102 may reduce a computational frequency of logic ICs 3120, which may in turn reduce a temperature of logic ICs 3120, which may in turn reduce an amount of boiling of immersion cooling liquid 3140, which may in turn reduce a deposition of contamination onto logic ICs 3120 or other portions of server 3100.

[0202] FIG. 3.2 illustrates an immersion cooling system 3200 including a plurality of servers 3210 (which include servers 3210a-d) that are communicatively coupled to a tank manager controller 3220. Immersion cooling system 3200 may include a container 3230 at least partially filled with an immersion cooling liquid 3240. The plurality of servers 3210 may be partially or fully immersed in immersion cooling liquid 3240. Each of plurality of servers 3210 may be communicatively coupled to tank manager controller 3220 through connection 3212. Each server of the plurality of servers 3210 may be the same as or analogous to server 3100.

[0203] A controller such as tank manager controller 3220 in immersion cooling system 3200 may throttle one or more logic ICs of the plurality of servers 3210, lower a power level of a power supply providing power to one or more components of immersion cooling system 3200 (such as servers 3210), notify a user that immersion cooling liquid 3240 needs to be filtered or changed, or the like.

[0204] Tank manager controller 3220 may receive a notification from a single server of plurality of servers 3210, for example, server 3210a, indicating that the sensors of that server have detected contamination (e.g., deposition, dendrites, deterioration of signal quality or transmission, etc.) on the server. Tank manager controller 3220 may subsequently transmit a notification to a human or digital facility manager indicating a need to repair or replace server 3210a. This may enable a targeted repair approach that minimizes downtime for immersion cooling system 3200 and allows the system to continue to operate with relatively high uptime.

[0205] Tank manager controller 3220 may additionally modify or control an operational parameter of immersion cooling system 3200 based on a notification from a server and / or server BMC about a contamination state. For example, in response to a notification from a BMC indicating a detection of contamination, tank manager controller 3220 may increase a flow rate through a tank filter, reduce a busbar voltage and / or input power to plurality of servers 3210, increase a circulation of coolant through one or more condenser tubes, or otherwise modify or control an operational parameter of immersion cooling system 3200 in any suitable way.

[0206] Tank manager controller 3220 may correlate sensor readings from one of more of plurality of servers 3210 with a contamination state of immersion cooling system 3200. For example, if sensors disposed on server 3210c and server 3210d measure an increase in contamination, but sensors disposed on servers 3210a and 3210b do not measure a corresponding increase in contamination, tank manager controller 3220 may determine that a source of contamination is on or near server 3210c and server 3210d and may transmit a notification to a human or digital facility manager indicating that a source of contamination may be located in a particular portion of container 3230.

[0207] FIG. 3.3 depicts various possible relationships between contamination state in PPM vs. sensor output (measured resistance in Ohms in the illustrated example) in accordance with the present technology. Possible relationships between sensor output and contamination state are illustrated as a linear relationship 3310 and a non-linear relationship 3320. A threshold contamination 3330 may be considered to be reached or exceeded when a measured resistance exceeds resistance threshold 3340 in the case of a linear relationship or resistance threshold 3350 in the case of an example non-linear relationship. The depicted relationships and relative thresholds are exemplary, and may be higher or lower in practice based on a variety of factors including immersion cooling liquid type, immersion cooling liquid temperature, type of computing hardware present in an immersion cooling system, and various other factors.

[0208] A measured resistance may increase asymptotically, quadratically, exponentially (including with an exponent greater or less than 1), and / or linearly with contamination state, or a combination of the foregoing; for example, increasing at a rate of about 0.01 Ohm / PPM, about 0.1 Ohm / PPM, about 1 Ohm / PPM, about 2 Ohm / PPM, about 5 Ohm / PPM, about 10 Ohm / PPM, about 20 Ohm / PPM, about 25 Ohm / PPM, about 50 Ohm / PPM, about 100 Ohm / PPM, about 250 Ohm / PPM, about 500 Ohm / PPM, about 1 kOhm / PPM, about 1.5 kOhm / PPM, about 2 kOhm / PPM, about 2.5 kOhm / PPM, about 5 kOhm / PPM, about 10 kOhm / PPM, about 20 kOhm / PPM, about 25 kOhm / PPM, about 50 kOhm / PPM, about 100 kOhm / PPM, about 250 kOhm / PPM, about 500 kOhm / PPM, about 1 MOhm / PPM, about 2 MOhm / PPM, about 2.5 MOhm / PPM, about 5 MOhm / PPM, about 10 MOhm / PPM, about 20 MOhm / PPM, about 25 MOhm / PPM, about 50 MOhm / PPM, about 100 MOhm / PPM, about 250 MOhm / PPM, about 500 MOhm / PPM, about 1 GOhm / PPM, about 5 GOhm / PPM, or any suitable rate.

[0209] In an embodiment, a measured resistance may be between about 0.01 Ohm / PPM and about 0.1 Ohm / PPM, between about 0.1 Ohm / PPM and about 1 Ohm / PPM, between about 1 Ohm / PPM and about 2.5 Ohm / PPM, between about 1 Ohm / PPM and about 5 Ohm / PPM,between about 5 Ohm / PPM and about 10 Ohm / PPM, between about 10 Ohm / PPM and about 25 Ohm / PPM, between about 25 Ohm / PPM and about 50 Ohm / PPM, between about 50 Ohm / PPM and about 100 Ohm / PPM, between about 75 Ohm / PPM and about 250 Ohm / PPM, between about 100 Ohm / PPM and about 500 Ohm / PPM, between about 250 Ohm / PPM and about 1000 Ohm / PPM, between about 1 kOhm / PPM and about 5 kOhm / PPM, between about 2.5 kOhm / PPM and about 7.5 kOhm / PPM, between about 5 kOhm / PPM and about 10 kOhm / PPM, between about 10 kOhm / PPM and about 50 kOhm / PPM, between about 25 kOhm / PPM and about 100 kOhm / PPM, between about 50 kOhm / PPM and about 250 kOhm / PPM, between about 100 kOhm / PPM and about 500 kOhm / PPM, between about 500 kOhm / PPM and about 1 MOhm / PPM, between about 750 kOhm / PPM and about 2.5 MOhm / PPM, between about 1 MOhm / PPM and about 5 MOhm / PPM, between about 2.5 MOhm / PPM and about 7.5 MOhm / PPM, between about 5 MOhm / PPM and about 10 MOhm / PPM, between about 10 MOhm / PPM and about 25 MOhm / PPM, between about 20 MOhm / PPM and about 50 MOhm / PPM, between about 25 MOhm / PPM and about 100 MOhm / PPM, between about 100 MOhm / PPM and about 500 MOhm / PPM, between about 500 MOhm / PPM and about 1 GOhm / PPM, between about 750 MOhm / PPM and about 2.5 GOhm / PPM, between about 1 GOhm / PPM and about 5 GOhm / PPM, between about 2.5 GOhm / PPM and about 10 GOhm / PPM, or any suitable range.

[0210] A threshold for contamination may be reached at any suitable contamination state. For example, a threshold for contamination may be about 1 PPM, about 2 PPM, about 5 PPM, about 8 PPM, about 10 PPM, about 12 PPM, about 15 PPM, about 20 PPM, about 25 PPM, about 30 PPM, about 35 PPM, about 40 PPM, about 45 PPM, about 50 PPM, about 55 PPM, about 60 PPM, about 65 PPM, about 70 PPM, about 75 PPM, about 80 PPM, about 85 PPM, about 90 PPM, about 95 PPM, about 100 PPM, about 110 PPM, about 125 PPM, about 150 PPM, about 200 PPM, about 250 PPM, about 500 PPM, about 1,000 PPM, about 5,000 PPM, or any suitable PPM.

[0211] A threshold for contamination may be between about 0.1 PPM to about 0.5 PPM, between about 0.5 PPM and about 1 PPM, between about 1 PPM and about 2 PPM, between about 2 PPM and about 5 PPM, between about 5 PPM and about 8 PPM, between about 7 PPM and about 10 PPM, between about 10 PPM and about 15 PPM, between about 12 PPM and about 25 PPM, between about 15 PPM and about 30 PPM, between about 20 PPM and about 35 PPM, between about 25 PPM and about 40 PPM, between about 30 PPM and about 50 PPM, between about 35 PPM and about 55 PPM, between about 40 PPM and about 75 PPM, between about 50PPM and about 80 PPM, between about 60 PPM and about 90 PPM, between about 75 PPM and about 100 PPM, between about 80 PPM and about 120 PPM, between about 100 PPM and about 125 PPM, between about 100 PPM and about 150 PPM, between about 125 PPM and about 175 PPM, between about 150 PPM and about 200 PPM, between about 200 PPM and about 500 PPM, between about 500 PPM and about 1,000 PPM, between about 1,000 PPM and about 2,500 PPM, between about 1,000 PPM and about 5,000 PPM, or between any suitable range of contamination.

[0212] In an embodiment, a measured resistance may indicate a threshold contamination has been reached. For example, controller 3102 may determine that a threshold contamination has been reached in response to sensors 3130 indicating a measured resistance of about 0.01 Ohm, about 0.1 Ohm, about 1 Ohm, about 2 Ohm, about 5 Ohm, about 10 Ohm, about 20 Ohm, about 25 Ohm, about 50 Ohm, about 100 Ohm, about 250 Ohm, about 500 Ohm, about 1 kOhm, about 1.5 kOhm, about 2 kOhm, about 2.5 kOhm, about 5 kOhm, about 10 kOhm, about 20 kOhm, about 25 kOhm, about 50 kOhm, about 100 kOhm, about 250 kOhm, about 500 kOhm, about 1 MOhm, about 2 MOhm, about 2.5 MOhm, about 5 MOhm, about 10 MOhm, about 20 MOhm, about 25 MOhm, about 50 MOhm, about 100 MOhm, about 250 MOhm, about 500 MOhm, about 1 GOhm, about 5 GOhm, or any suitable resistance.

[0213] Controller 3102 may determine that a threshold contamination has been reached in response to sensors 3130 indicating a measured resistance between a range of values, for example, between about 0.01 Ohm and about 0.1 Ohm, between about 0.1 Ohm and about 1 Ohm, between about 1 Ohm and about 2.5 Ohm, between about 1 Ohm and about 5 Ohm, between about 5 Ohm and about 10 Ohm, between about 10 Ohm and about 25 Ohm, between about 25 Ohm and about 50 Ohm, between about 50 Ohm and about 100 Ohm, between about 75 Ohm and about 250 Ohm, between about 100 Ohm and about 500 Ohm, between about 250 Ohm and about 1000 Ohm, between about 1 kOhm and about 5 kOhm, between about 2.5 kOhm and about 7.5 kOhm, between about 5 kOhm and about 10 kOhm, between about 10 kOhm and about 50 kOhm, between about 25 kOhm and about 100 kOhm, between about 50 kOhm and about 250 kOhm, between about 100 kOhm and about 500 kOhm, between about 500 kOhm and about 1 MOhm, between about 750 kOhm and about 2.5 MOhm, between about 1 MOhm and about 5 MOhm, between about 2.5 MOhm and about 7.5 MOhm, between about 5 MOhm and about 10 MOhm, between about 10 MOhm and about 25 MOhm, between about 20 MOhm and about 50 MOhm, between about 25 MOhm and about 100 MOhm, between about 100 MOhm and about 500 MOhm, between about 500 MOhm and about 1 GOhm, between about 750 MOhm andabout 2.5 GOhm, between about 1 GOhm and about 5 GOhm, between about 2.5 GOhm and about 10 GOhm, or any suitable range.

[0214] Controller 3102 may determine that a threshold contamination has been reached in response to sensors 3130 indicating a measured parameter has increased by a threshold percentage from a first measurement at a first time to a second measurement at a second time, for example, an increase of about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 8%, about 10%, about 12%, about 15%, about 20%, about 25%, about 35%, about 50%, about 75%, about 100%, about 125%, about 150%, about 175%, about 250%, about 300%, about 400%, about 500%, about 600%, about 700%, about 800%, about 900%, about 1,000%, about 1,250%, about 1,500%, about 2,000%, about 2500%, about 5,000%, about 8,000%, about 10,000%, about 15,000%, about 20,000%, about 50,000%, about 100,000%, about 500,000%, about 1,000,000%, or any suitable percentage.

[0215] Controller 3102 may determine that a threshold contamination has been reached in response to sensors 3130 indicating a measured parameter has increased by a range of threshold percentages from a first measurement at a first time to a second measurement at a second time, for example, an increase of between about 1% to about 2%, about 1% to about 3%, about 2% to about 5%, about 5% to about 8%, about 5% to about 10%, about 8% to about 12%, about 10% to about 15%, about 15% to about 20%, about 18% to about 25%, about 25% to about 35%, about 30% to about 50%, about 50% to about 75%, about 65% to about 100%, about 90% to about 125%, about 100% to about 150%, about 125% to about 175%, about 150% to about 250%, about 200% to about 300%, about 250% to about 400%, about 300% to about 500%, about 400% to about 600%, about 500% to about 700%, about 600% to about 800%, about 750% to about 900%, about 800% to about 1,000%, about 1,000% to about 1,250%, about 1,000% to about 1,500%, about 1,500% to about 2,000%, about 1,750% to about 2500%, about 2,000% to about 5,000%, about 4,000% to about 8,000%, about 6,000% to about 10,000%, about 10,000% to about 15,000%, about 12,000% to about 20,000%, about 15,000% to about 25,000%, about 25,000% to about 50,000%, about 50,000% to about 100,000%, about 100,000% to about 500,000%, about 500,000% to about 1,000,000%, or any suitable range of percentages.

[0216] FIG. 3.4 depicts aspects of an immersion cooling system 3400 for dissipating heat from one or more heat-generating components such as semiconductor die packages 3405 via immersion cooling. Each package 3405 can include one or more semiconductor dies that produce heat when the system is in operation. The immersion cooling system 3400 in theillustrated example of FIG. 3.4 is a two-phase immersion cooling system, though the invention may also be implemented in a single-phase immersion cooling system.

[0217] Immersion cooling system 3400 includes a container such as tank 3420 filled, at least in part, with immersion cooling liquid 3464. The immersion cooling system 3400 can further include at least one chiller 3480 that flows a heat-transfer fluid through at least one condenser tube 3470 that is disposed in the tank 3420 and headspace 3408. Condenser tubes 3470 and chiller 3480 may be part of a heat exchanger. The packages 3405 can be mounted on one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) 3457 that are immersed, at least in part, in the immersion cooling liquid 3464. Immersion-cooling system 3400 may further include a filter 3475 disposed adjacent to the tank 3420.

[0218] Filter 3475 may include a filtration media, a housing, and a pump configured to force immersion cooling liquid 3464 through filter 3475 to remove contaminants, particulates, or other impurities that may be added to immersion cooling liquid 3464 during use. Filter 3475 may be housed outside of tank 3420 while being in fluidic communication with immersion cooling liquid 3464 in tank 3420. Alternatively, filter 3475 may be submerged within immersion cooling liquid 3464 inside of tank 3420.

[0219] Immersion cooling liquid 3464 may be a hydrocarbon, a fluoroketone, an oil, or a similar dielectric liquid that will act as an insulator while simultaneously transferring heat from package 3405 more efficiently than air. An example of immersion cooling liquid 3464 is Novec™ 649 produced by 3M™. An exemplary immersion cooling liquid 3464 used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may have a dielectric constant baseline value of about 1.8-2 at a frequency of about 1 kHz.

[0220] In an embodiment of the invention, immersion cooling liquid 3464 may be considered unacceptably contaminated if the dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent of immersion cooling fluid being used in an immersion cooling system 3400 differs by a threshold amount as compared to unused or pure immersion cooling liquid 3464. For example, immersion cooling liquid 3464 may be considered unacceptably contaminated or degraded if the dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent differs by a threshold of 10% or more as compared to unused or pure immersion cooling liquid 3464. In an embodiment, a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent variation threshold may be 20%, 15%, 5%, 3%, 1%, or any suitable threshold.

[0221] Contamination of the immersion cooling liquid 3464 and resulting changes to dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may alter or negatively impact operation ofcomponents within immersion cooling liquid 3464 including semiconductor die(s) 3450. An altered dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may result in undesirable cross-talk between components on a PCB, additional noise or reduction in signal strength transmitted along exposed wires of a PCB or semiconductor die(s) 3450 submerged in immersion fluid, and / or signal dissipation through the immersion cooling liquid 3464. Signal loss may be severe enough that two elements may be effectively represented as being separated by an open circuit despite being physically connected. In an embodiment, a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent variation threshold may be selected based on an observed or inferred effect on one or more submerged semiconductor die(s) 3450. For example, an increase in PCIe bit error rate above an error rate baseline may be correlated with an increase in dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent above a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent baseline. Accordingly, operation of semiconductor die(s) 3450 may be throttled or suspended when a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent of immersion cooling liquid 3464 exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0222] Changes to dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may be caused by contaminants within immersion cooling liquid 3464. In some cases, changes to dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent may be reversed by filtering the contaminants from immersion cooling liquid 3464. In some embodiments, upon detecting an increase in dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent of immersion cooling liquid 3464, controller 3402 may instruct filter 3475 to increase filtration throughput or notify a user that an immersion cooling liquid 3464 filtration media may need to be replaced. If a dielectric constant and / or dielectric loss tangent exceeds a predetermined threshold, controller 3402 may throttle or shut down one or more semiconductor die(s) 3450, generate a notification that immersion cooling liquid 3464 should be replaced, trigger an alarm, etc.

[0223] Further examples of sensors and methods for immersion cooling contamination monitoring may include probes for monitoring immersion cooling liquid parameters such as dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent, and processors configured to identify trends in sensor data, model immersion cooling system behavior as a function of contamination, and alter operations of immersion cooling systems based on detected levels and / or states of contamination may be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63 / 516,748, filed July 31, 2023 and entitled “Di-Electric Monitoring of Immersion Fluid During Cooling Operation,” the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0224] The illustrated example of FIG. 3.4 is not intended to be to scale. The immersion cooling system 3400 may house and provide immersion cooling liquid 3464 to tens, hundreds, or even thousands of packages 3405. In some cases, the immersion cooling system 3400 can be small (e.g., the size of a floor unit air conditioner, approximately 1 meter high, 0.5 meter width, 0.5 meter depth or length). In some implementations, the immersion cooling system can be large (e.g., the size of a van or larger, approximately 2.5 meters high, 2.5 meters width, 4 meters depth or length).

[0225] The immersion cooling system 3400 can also include a controller 3402 (e.g., a microcontroller, programmable logic controller (PLC), microprocessor, field-programmable gate array, logic circuitry, memory, or some combination thereof) to manage system operation. Controller 3402 can perform various system functions such as monitoring temperatures of system components, cooling fluid level, tank access, chiller operation, etc. The controller 3402 can further issue commands to control system operation such as executing a start-up sequence, executing a shut-down sequence, assigning workloads among the packages, changing cooling fluid level, changing the temperature of the heat-transfer fluid circulated by the chiller 3480, etc. In some implementations, controller 3402 can include (or itself be) a baseboard management controller (BMC) 3404. That is, the BMC 3404 may monitor and control all aspects of system operation for the immersion cooling system 3400 in addition to monitoring and controlling workloads of the semiconductor dies 3450 in the packages 3405 cooled by the system. The immersion cooling system 3400 can also include a network interface controller (NIC 3403) to allow the system to communicate over a network, such as a local area network or wide area network. The immersion cooling system 3400 can further include a fluid sensor array 3490 having a plurality of fluid sensors 3410. Fluid sensors 3410 may include one or more contamination sensors at least partially submerged in immersion cooling liquid 3464.

[0226] The semiconductor die(s) 3450 and can be mounted on and attached to a printed circuit board (PCB) 3455 (sometimes referred to as a substrate) in device package 3405. The package 3405 can be made commercially available as an off-the-shelf (OTS) product. The package 3405 can be used for single-phase or two-phase immersion cooling of at least one semiconductor die 3450, such as a microprocessor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) and / or graphics processing unit (GPU)), voltage regulator (VR), high bandwidth memory (HBM), a digital signal processing (DSP) die, an artificial intelligence (Al) accelerator, an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or other densely patterned semiconductor die.

[0227] In the two-phase immersion cooling system 3400 of FIG. 3.4, heat flows from the semiconductor die 3450 where it is generated into the heat spreader 3452. The heat spreader 3452 is in thermal contact with an immersion cooling liquid 3464 that can flow over and extract heat from the heat spreader 3452. The amount of heat delivered by the heat spreader 3452 to the immersion cooling liquid 3464 is enough to boil the immersion cooling liquid 3464 that contacts the heat spreader 3452 (creating bubbles 3465 and potentially creating froth 3467 when bubbles 3465 reach the surface of immersion cooling liquid 3464). The vapor 3466 from the boiled immersion cooling liquid 3464 can be cooled and condensed back to liquid droplets 3468, for example, by the condenser tube 3470. The heat-transfer fluid, such as chilled water, from the chiller 3480 can be circulated through the condenser tube 3470 to lower the temperature of the condenser tube 3470 below the condensation point in the headspace 3408 of the tank 3420. As a result, vapor 3466 condenses on exterior surfaces of the condenser tube 3470 and liquid droplets 3468 from the condensed vapor can drip and / or flow back to the immersion cooling liquid 3464. There may be a plurality of condenser tubes 3470 in tank 3420 to condense the vapor 3466 into droplets. Some or all of the condenser tubes 3470 may or may not be located directly over the PCBs 3457. Instead, the condenser tube(s) 3470 can be located near one or more walls of the tank 3420, such that the condenser tube(s) 3470 are not directly over the PCBs 3457 on which the packages 3405 are mounted.

[0228] To improve thermal performance in two-phase immersion cooling system 3400, the heat spreader 3452 can include a boiling enhancement coating (BEC) on at least one surface. The BEC can be formed from copper or a copper alloy and can be porous, for example, though BECs can take various forms. In some cases, the BEC is a micro porous copper coating having a thickness from approximately or exactly 50 microns to 500 microns thick (which may be produced by electroplating and / or etching). In some implementations, the BEC comprises a mesh copper layer bonded (e.g., via resistance heating) to at least an outer surface of the heat spreader 3452. In some cases, the BEC is applied as particulates to at least one smooth surface of the heat spreader 3452 and then subsequently sintered to adhere to one another and to the heat spreader 3452. The BEC provides an improved surface area to contact the immersion cooling liquid 3464 and can increase the heat transfer coefficient from the heat spreader 3452 to the immersion cooling liquid 3464 by up to a factor of 15 versus a smooth surface on the heat spreader 3452. Accordingly, BECs can increase thermal conductivity to, and accelerate the boiling of, the immersion cooling liquid 3464.

[0229] Further implementations of boiling enhancement coatings and enclosures are possible. Additional arrangements, applications, and methods of use of boiling enhancement coatings and enclosures, including with semiconductor dies and 3DIC stacks, are described in the below U.S. Patent Applications.

[0230] U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 327,615, filed June 1, 2023 and entitled "Boiler Enhancement Coatings with Active Boiling Management,” discloses heat spreader and boiling enhancement enclosure architectures thermally and / or mechanically coupled to one or more semiconductor dies or logic ICs that may be used for passive and / or active management of immersion cooling fluid boiling, including through the use of valves to control pressure of boiling immersion cooling fluid within a boiling enhancement chamber, particularly in paragraphs

[0018] -

[0039] and FIGS. 3-5B. The entirety of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 327,615 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0231] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 500,167, filed May 4, 2023 and entitled “Direct to Chip Heat Spreader and Boiler Enhancement Coatings for Microelectronics,” discloses heat spreader and BECs thermally and / or mechanically coupled to one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks, particularly in paragraphs

[0015] -

[0033] and FIGS. 2A-4. BEC form factors may include graphite heat spreader architectures, vapor chambers, heat pipes, copper plates, fins, and the like. BEC form factors may be thermally and / or mechanically coupled to the one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks through a thermally conductive epoxy, and may have varying dimensions relative to a surface to which the semiconductor dies and / or logic ICs are mounted. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 500,167 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0232] U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 460,091, filed September 1, 2023 and entitled “Direct to Chip Application of Boiling Enhancement Coating,” discloses BECs and methods for applying BECs to semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks in accordance with the present technology. In particular, paragraphs

[0024] -

[0046] and FIGS. 2A-5 disclose embodiments of BEC layers, adhesives, solders, sintering, laser ablation, meshes, and other BECs and BEC application methods. The entirety of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 460,091 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0233] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 506,945, filed June 8, 2023 and entitled “Vapor-Shedding Structures for Boiler Plates in Two-Phase Immersion Cooling Systems,” discloses structures that may be thermally and / or mechanically coupled to computing hardware such as one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks to enable theshedding of immersion cooling vapors generated from the boiling of immersion cooling fluid during operation of the computing hardware. In particular, paragraphs

[0021] -

[0039] and FIGS. 3 A- 5 disclose vapor-shedding structures including varying porosities, constituent materials, and geometries relative to the computing hardware on which they are mounted. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 506,945 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0234] U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 513,828, filed July 14, 2023 and entitled “Grinding Apparatuses and Methods for Mechanically Modifying Surfaces of Processors to Promote Boiling of a Coolant Liquid,” discloses methods for creating boiling enhancement modifications to surfaces such as the surfaces of computing hardware such as one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks, particularly in paragraphs

[0036] -

[0095] and FIGS. 2A-8. For example, grooves, patterns, gouges, trenches, or other structures may be added to a surface or lid of a processor, semiconductor die, logic IC, 3DIC stack component, and / or BEC to encourage nucleation sites for bubbles of immersion cooling vapor to form during a cooling process, thus decreasing the thermal resistance between the processor, semiconductor die, logic IC, and / or 3DIC stack component and the surrounding immersion cooling fluid. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 513,828 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0235] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 513,829, filed July 14, 2023 and entitled “Electrical Connector Having a Heater to Facilitate Boiling of a Coolant Liquid to Improve Signal Integrity in Immersion Cooling Environment,” discloses heaters for promoting boiling of immersion cooling fluid near electrical connectors such as connections between components of a 3DIC stack and enable improved impedances at those connectors, particularly in paragraphs

[0019] -

[0052] and FIGS. 1A-3B. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 513,829 is incorporated herein by reference.

[0236] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 603,242, filed November 28, 2023 and entitled “Woven Boiler Enhancement Coatings,” provides additional examples of BECs including woven BECs with variable weave patterns, densities, attachment mechanisms, and materials (including copper and tungsten) that may be attached to computing hardware such as one or more semiconductor dies, logic ICs, and / or 3DIC stacks in order to promote more efficient heat transfer and immersion cooling vapor nucleation, particularly in paragraphs

[0031] -

[0055] and FIGS. 3-7. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 603,242 is incorporated herein by reference.Conclusion

[0237] While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and / or structures for performing the function and / or obtaining the results and / or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and / or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and / or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is / are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and / or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and / or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and / or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

[0238] Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

[0239] All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and / or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

[0240] The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

[0241] The phrase “and / or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and / or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elementsso conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and / or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and / or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

[0242] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and / or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and / or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of’ or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e., “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

[0243] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and / or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

[0244] In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of’ and “consisting essentially of’ shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An immersion cooling system comprising: an immersion cooling container at least partially filled with an immersion cooling liquid; a plurality of electronic components, at least one of the plurality of electronic components being disposed within the immersion cooling liquid; a cable comprising a first portion disposed within the immersion cooling liquid, the cable configured to transmit signals between the plurality of electronic components; and a conduit at least partially disposed within the immersion cooling liquid; wherein: a majority of the first portion is disposed within the conduit; and the conduit is at least partially sealed, such that the majority of the first portion is fluidically isolated from the immersion cooling liquid.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the conduit comprises at least one of stainless steel, aluminum, or polycarbonate.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the conduit is at least partially filled with a sealant.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the sealant comprises an epoxy.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one end of the conduit is sealed with an end cap, the end cap having at least one pass-through for the cable.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic components comprises a central processing unit (CPU).

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic components comprises a graphics processing unit (GPU).

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic components comprises an artificial intelligence (Al) accelerator.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the cable comprises at least one of a fiber optic cable, an ethernet cable, a coaxial cable, a twin-axial cable, or a power cable.

10. A method of operating an immersion cooling system, the method comprising: using one or more signals to control, by a controller, an operation of an electronic component disposed within an immersion cooling liquid; transferring heat from the electronic component into the immersion cooling liquid; and transmitting, through a cable, the one or more signals between the controller and the electronic component, the cable comprising a first portion disposed within the immersion cooling liquid; wherein: a majority of the first portion is disposed within a conduit; and the conduit is at least partially sealed, such that the majority of the first portion is fluidically isolated from the immersion cooling liquid.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the conduit is at least partially filled with a sealant.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the sealant comprises an epoxy.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one end of the conduit is sealed with an end cap, the end cap having at least one pass-through for the cable.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the electronic component comprises a central processing unit (CPU).

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the electronic component comprises a graphics processing unit (GPU).

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the electronic component comprises an artificial intelligence (Al) accelerator.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein the cable comprises at least one of a fiber optic cable, an ethernet cable, a coaxial cable, a twin-axial cable, or a power cable.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the conduit comprises at least one of stainless steel, aluminum, or polycarbonate.

19. A system for contamination monitoring, the system comprising: an immersion cooling container at least partially filled with an immersion cooling liquid; a first electrode immersed within the immersion cooling liquid; a second electrode immersed within the immersion cooling liquid; an insulating material disposed between and in physical contact with both the first electrode and the second electrode; a heater in thermal contact with the insulating material and configured to transfer heat to the insulating material; and a controller electrically coupled to the first electrode and the second electrode; wherein the controller is configured to: apply a voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode; measure a resistance between the first electrode and the second electrode; and correlate the resistance to a contamination level of the immersion cooling liquid.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the controller is configured to cause the heater to raise a temperature of the insulating material to at least a boiling temperature of the immersion cooling liquid.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the heater causes at least a portion of the immersion cooling liquid surrounding the insulating material to boil.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the voltage difference is between about 10 kV and about 50 kV.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit a notification to a management entity in response to the contamination level exceeding a threshold.

24. The system of claim 19, wherein the immersion cooling liquid comprises a fluoroketone or a hydrocarbon.

25. An apparatus for contamination monitoring, the apparatus comprising: a first electrode immersed within an immersion cooling liquid; a second electrode immersed within the immersion cooling liquid; an insulating material disposed between and in physical contact with both the first electrode and the second electrode; a heater in thermal contact with the insulating material and configured to transfer heat to the insulating material; and a controller electrically coupled to the first electrode and the second electrode; wherein the controller is configured to: apply a voltage difference between the first electrode and the second electrode; measure a resistance between the first electrode and the second electrode; and correlate the resistance to a contamination level of the immersion cooling liquid.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the controller is configured to cause the heater to raise a temperature of the insulating material to at least a boiling temperature of the immersion cooling liquid.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the heater causes at least a portion of the immersion cooling liquid surrounding the insulating material to boil.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the voltage difference is between about 10 kV and about 50 kV.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit a notification to a management entity in response to the contamination level exceeding a threshold.

30. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the immersion cooling liquid comprises a fluoroketone or a hydrocarbon.

31. A method for contamination monitoring, the method comprising: applying, by a controller, a voltage difference between a first electrode disposed within an immersion cooling liquid and a second electrode disposed within the immersion cooling liquid; measuring, by the controller, a resistance between the first electrode and the second electrode in response to applying the voltage difference; and correlating, by the controller, the resistance to a contamination level of the immersion cooling liquid.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising: raising, by a heater, a temperature of an insulating material disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode to at least a boiling temperature of the immersion cooling liquid.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the insulating material is attached to the first electrode and the second electrode.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising: causing, by the heater, at least a portion of the immersion cooling liquid surrounding the insulating material to boil.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein the voltage difference is between about 10 kV and about 50 kV.

36. The method of claim 31, further comprising: transmitting, by the controller, a notification to a management entity in response to the contamination level of the immersion cooling liquid exceeding a threshold.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein the immersion cooling liquid comprises a fluoroketone or a hydrocarbon.

38. A system for contamination monitoring, the system comprising: a system controller configured to control one or more operations of an immersion cooling system; an immersion cooling container at least partially filled with an immersion cooling liquid; a first server at least partially disposed in the immersion cooling liquid, the first server comprising a baseboard management controller (BMC); and a plurality of sensors disposed on the first server and communicatively coupled to the BMC; wherein: the BMC is communicatively coupled to the system controller; and the BMC is configured to determine a contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid based at least on one measurement from the plurality of sensors.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the BMC is further configured to transmit a notification to at least one of the system controller or an external controller, the notification being based on the contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid.

40. The system of claim 38, wherein: the first server further comprises one or more logic integrated circuits (ICs); and the BMC is further configured to control an operational parameter of the one or more logic ICs.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the operational parameter comprises a voltage, a current, a resistance, a capacitance, a temperature, a flow rate, a frequency, a power, a storage of energy, or an operation of a battery.

42. The system of claim 40, wherein the one or more logic ICs comprises two logic ICs, four logic ICs, six logic ICs, eight logic ICs, 16 logic ICs, 24 logic ICs, 32 logic ICs, or 64 or more logic ICs.

43. The system of claim 38, wherein the plurality of sensors is configured to measure at least one of a permeability, a permittivity, a temperature, a resistance, a voltage, a current, a dendrite growth, a signal integrity, an electric field, a magnetic field, or a presence of water.

44. The system of claim 38, wherein the BMC is configured to repeatedly measure outputs from the plurality of sensors at a predetermined interval.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein the predetermined interval is based on the contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid.

46. A method for detecting contamination, the method comprising: measuring, by a baseboard management controller (BMC), an output from a plurality of sensors disposed on a server, the server comprising one or more logic integrated circuits (ICs); correlating, by the BMC, the output from the plurality of sensors to a contamination state of an immersion cooling liquid in which the plurality of sensors is disposed; and controlling an operational parameter of the one or more logic ICs based on the contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid; wherein: the server is disposed in the immersion cooling liquid; and the BMC is communicatively coupled to one or more of a system controller configured to control one or more operations of an immersion cooling system or an external controller.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising: transmitting, by the BMC, a notification to at least one of the system controller or the external controller based on the contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein the operational parameter comprises a voltage, a current, a resistance, a capacitance, a temperature, a flow rate, a frequency, a power, a storage of energy, or an operation of a battery.

49. The method of claim 46, wherein the one or more logic ICs comprises two logic ICs, four logic ICs, six logic ICs, eight logic ICs, 16 logic ICs, 24 logic ICs, 32 logic ICs, or 64 or more logic ICs.

50. The method of claim 46, wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to measure at least one of a permeability, a permittivity, a temperature, a resistance, a voltage, acurrent, a dendrite growth, a signal integrity, an electric field, a magnetic field, or a presence of water.

51. The method of claim 46, further comprising: repeatedly measuring, by the BMC, outputs from the plurality of sensors at a predetermined interval.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the predetermined interval is based on the contamination state of the immersion cooling liquid.

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