Corrugated Thermal Interface Device with Lateral Spring Fingers

Abstract

The first electronic device may include a chassis and first fins. The chassis may be configured to be removably coupled to a second electronic device. The first fins are configured to be interleaved with second fins of the second electronic device in a coupled state of the first and second electronic devices. The corrugated thermal interface device includes folded fins. The folded fins are coupled to the first fins and are also removably coupled to the second fins in the coupled state of the first and second electronic devices. Each folded fin includes one or more side walls, and the corrugated thermal interface device further includes a plurality of spring fingers that are coupled to the side walls and extend at least partially in a lateral direction from the side walls. In the coupled state of the first and second electronic devices, the second fins may contact and displace the spring finger contacts.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to a corrugated thermal interface device with lateral spring fingers. Background Art

[0002] Electronic devices such as computers, network devices, power supply units, etc. can be configured to removably mate with various pluggable auxiliary devices, which are sometimes referred to as pluggable modules. The electronic device has a socket configured to removably receive the pluggable auxiliary device, and the socket includes one or more connectors to mate with complementary connectors of the pluggable auxiliary device to establish electrical, optical, or other connections through which signals can communicate. Non-limiting examples of pluggable auxiliary devices include pluggable optical transceivers (e.g., quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) connectors, octal small form-factor pluggable (OSFP) connectors, etc.), PCIe cards, solid-state drives (SSDs) such as NVMe or M.2 SSDs, hard disk drives, power supplies, and other similar devices. Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device, comprising: a chassis configured to be removably coupled to a second electronic device; a plurality of first fins configured to be interleaved with a plurality of second fins of the second electronic device in a coupled state of the electronic device and the second electronic device; and a corrugated thermal interface device comprising: a plurality of folded fins engaged with the plurality of first fins, each of the plurality of folded fins including one or more lateral walls; and a plurality of spring fingers coupled to the lateral walls of the folded fins and at least partially extending in a lateral direction from the lateral walls of the folded fins, wherein the plurality of spring fingers are configured to contact lateral surfaces of the plurality of second fins in a coupled state of the electronic device and the second electronic device.

[0004] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a system, comprising: a first electronic device including a plurality of first fins; a second electronic device removably coupled to the first electronic device and including a plurality of second fins configured to be interleaved with the plurality of first fins in a coupled state of the first electronic device and the second electronic device; and a corrugated thermal interface device comprising: a plurality of folded fins attached to the plurality of first fins, each of the plurality of folded fins including one or more lateral walls; and a plurality of spring fingers coupled to the lateral walls of the folded fins and at least partially extending in a lateral direction from the lateral walls of the folded fins; and wherein, when the plurality of second fins are interleaved with the plurality of first fins, the plurality of second fins contact the plurality of spring fingers and displace the plurality of spring fingers.

[0005] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided, including: inserting a first electronic device into a socket of a second electronic device; and thermally coupling the first electronic device to the second electronic device via a corrugated thermal interface device disposed between the first electronic device and the second electronic device, wherein thermally coupling the first electronic device to the second electronic device while inserting the first electronic device into the socket includes: staggering a plurality of first fins of the first electronic device with a plurality of second fins of the second electronic device such that a plurality of folded fins of the corrugated thermal interface device engage with the plurality of first fins and the plurality of second fins; and causing a plurality of spring fingers coupled to the folded fins of the corrugated thermal interface device to contact a lateral surface of one of the plurality of first fins or the plurality of second fins. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] The present disclosure may be understood separately through the following specific description or in combination with the attached Figure 1 drawings. These drawings are provided to further understand the present disclosure, and these drawings are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one or more examples of the present teachings and, together with the specification, explain specific principles and operations. In the drawings:

[0007] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system.

[0008] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an electronic device.

[0009] Figure 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary pluggable auxiliary device and an exemplary corrugated thermal interface device in a disassembled state.

[0010] Figure 4 is Figure 3 a perspective view of the pluggable auxiliary device and the corrugated thermal interface device in an assembled state.

[0011] Figure 5 is Figure 3 a perspective view of a system including the pluggable auxiliary device and the corrugated thermal interface device, and the electronic device in a state where the pluggable auxiliary device is pulled out.

[0012] Figure 6 is Figure 3 a perspective view of the system in a state where the pluggable auxiliary device is inserted.

[0013] Figure 7 is Figure 3 a perspective view of the corrugated thermal interface device.

[0014] Figure 8 is Figure 7Side view of the corrugated thermal interface device as viewed from the perspective shown by arrow 8.

[0015] Figure 9 is Figure 7 Front view of the corrugated thermal interface device as viewed from the perspective shown by arrow 9.

[0016] Figure 10 is Figure 7 Enlarged perspective cross-sectional view of a portion of the corrugated thermal interface device taken along Figure 7 10-10 in

[0017] Figure 11 is Figure 7 Enlarged top view of a portion of the corrugated thermal interface device as viewed from the perspective shown by arrow 11.

[0018] Figure 12 is Figure 7 Enlarged side view of a portion of the corrugated thermal interface device as viewed from the perspective shown by arrow 8.

[0019] Figure 13 is Figure 4 Front view of the pluggable auxiliary device and the corrugated thermal interface device in the assembled state as viewed from the perspective shown by arrow 13.

[0020] Figure 14 is Figure 6 View of the system in the inserted state of the pluggable auxiliary device as viewed from the perspective shown by arrow 14, where the rear part of the pluggable auxiliary device is omitted to make the fins 322 visible.

[0021] Figure 15 Front view of a portion of an exemplary cooling plate and an exemplary corrugated thermal interface device in the unassembled state.

[0022] Figure 16 Front view of a portion of the cooling plate and the corrugated thermal interface device in the assembled state.

[0023] Figure 17 is including Figure 16 Front view of a portion of an exemplary electronic device including the cooling plate and the corrugated thermal interface device in the assembled state.

[0024] Figure 18 is including a pluggable electronic device and Figure 17 Front view of a portion of an exemplary system of an electronic device in the inserted state of the pluggable electronic device.

[0025] Figure 19 is Figure 18 Perspective view of the system in the unplugged state of the pluggable electronic device.

[0026] Figure 20 is Figure 18 a perspective view of the system in the inserted state of the pluggable electronic device. Detailed implementation manners

[0027] As described above, in some systems, an electronic device is configured to removably receive a pluggable auxiliary device. Herein, an electronic device configured to receive a pluggable auxiliary device may be referred to as a "primary electronic device" to distinguish it from the pluggable auxiliary device. However, it should be understood that the term "primary" is only used as a label in this context and is not intended to limit the configuration or use of the electronic device. The pluggable auxiliary device may also be referred to as a "pluggable device", an "auxiliary device", or a "pluggable module".

[0028] Some pluggable auxiliary devices generate a large amount of heat during use. For example, some pluggable optical transceivers can generate approximately 80 watts per device. In addition, the amount of heat generated by various pluggable auxiliary devices is expected to increase from generation to generation as the devices are becoming faster, denser, adding more functions, and / or otherwise improved. Therefore, some systems include a cooling solution to remove heat from the pluggable auxiliary device to keep its temperature within a desired range. For example, some systems are configured to remove heat from the pluggable auxiliary device by generating an air flow (e.g., via a fan of the system) and directing the air flow above / around the pluggable auxiliary device (e.g., via an opening in the socket that receives the pluggable auxiliary device). However, in certain cases, air cooling may not be a viable solution for cooling the pluggable auxiliary device. For example, in some systems, such as in a 100% liquid-cooled computing system, there may not be any fans within the system, and thus there may be no or only limited air flow above the pluggable auxiliary device in such a system. As another example, there may be an air flow in some systems, but the air flow may not be sufficient to cool the pluggable auxiliary device to the desired level. This may occur in some cases because the air flow restriction around the pluggable auxiliary device prevents sufficient air flow from reaching the pluggable auxiliary device. In other cases, the pluggable auxiliary device may generate too much heat such that even with sufficient air flow, air cooling may not be sufficient to cool the pluggable device.

[0029] Accordingly, to provide reliable and robust cooling capabilities for a pluggable auxiliary device, the systems disclosed herein can utilize a liquid to cool the pluggable auxiliary device. In particular, the systems disclosed herein are provided with a liquid cooling loop that circulates a liquid coolant (e.g., water or other coolant) through the main electronic devices to remove heat from the various heat sources therein. Such liquid cooling loops may be familiar to those of ordinary skill in the art. However, since the pluggable auxiliary device is intended to be repeatedly inserted into and removed from the system, integrating the pluggable auxiliary device into the liquid cooling loop can be challenging. For example, the pluggable auxiliary device cannot be directly and permanently coupled to the liquid cooling loop like other devices such as a CPU, because such a permanent coupling would interfere with the ability to insert and remove the pluggable auxiliary device. Thus, in the systems and devices disclosed herein, when the pluggable auxiliary device is inserted into the system, a cooling plate can be used to contact the pluggable auxiliary device in a manner that does not interfere with the relatively easy insertion and removal of the pluggable auxiliary device. This physical contact between the pluggable auxiliary device and the cooling plate creates a conductive thermal interface, whereby heat can conduct from the pluggable auxiliary device into the cooling plate and then from the cooling plate into the liquid coolant flow that is thermally coupled to the cooling plate. Such a liquid cooling method may be particularly applicable in systems where there are no fans or where air cooling is insufficient to cool the pluggable auxiliary device.

[0030] In some cases, if the interface between the pluggable auxiliary device and the cooling plate consists only of direct physical contact between the two devices, it may be difficult to achieve a sufficiently large thermal conductivity to reach the desired temperature. For example, if the corresponding contact surfaces of the cooling plate and the auxiliary device are not flat and parallel enough, surface defects and / or divergent directions of the surfaces may result in an air gap between the two contact surfaces, thus reducing the total contact area between the cooling plate and the auxiliary device and consequently decreasing the thermal conductivity. In other cases, thermal interface materials (TIMs) such as thermal paste, thermal adhesive, or thermal contact pads have been successfully used as the interface between the two contact surfaces to fill the air gap therebetween, thus allowing for improved thermal conductivity. However, such TIMs may not be well-suited for use with pluggable auxiliary devices because the insertion and removal of the device in the system may peel off or damage the TIM, and thus the TIM may need to be reapplied regularly (e.g., in some cases, it needs to be applied each time the auxiliary device is inserted). Additionally, thermal paste and thermal adhesive can be messy and difficult to use, and thermal contact pads may not provide sufficient thermal conductivity in some applications.

[0031] An alternative way to reduce this air gap without using a TIM is to have parts with relatively strict tolerances and tight fits, including strict tolerances for the contact surfaces to ensure a minimum of defects, and strict tolerances for the components that guide the two contact surfaces into contact with each other to ensure flush contact between the contact surfaces. However, such strict tolerances make the manufacture of the device very difficult and expensive. In addition, in the case of a pluggable auxiliary device, ensuring flush contact of the contact surfaces may require a relatively tight fit between the pluggable auxiliary device and the socket that receives it, which makes it more difficult to insert and remove the auxiliary device.

[0032] Accordingly, to address the challenges associated with achieving sufficient thermal conductivity between a pluggable auxiliary device and a cold plate while avoiding some of the drawbacks of traditional TIMs and the need for tight tolerances, the examples disclosed herein provide a thermal interface device between the cold plate and the pluggable auxiliary device that allows for high thermal conductivity while allowing all components to be relatively easily fabricated and used in a pluggable environment. In particular, the examples disclosed herein can utilize a corrugated thermal interface device located between the cold plate and the pluggable auxiliary device, where the corrugated thermal interface device includes a plurality of folded fins (e.g., formed from a folded metal sheet) and spring fingers coupled to the folded fins. The spring fingers are arranged to extend between the cold plate and the pluggable auxiliary device to form a conduction path therebetween. The spring fingers extend across the air gap that may exist between the cold plate and the pluggable auxiliary device, and since the spring fingers are elastically deformable, they can bend to accommodate variations in the gap distance that may occur due to surface defects and / or misalignment of the cold plate and / or the auxiliary device. Thus, the spring fingers are able to maintain reliable contact with the cold plate or the auxiliary device and thus allow for high thermal conductivity between the pluggable auxiliary device and the cold plate, thereby allowing for less stringent manufacturing tolerances or a tight fit between the pluggable auxiliary device and the socket. For example, in some embodiments, the corrugated thermal interface device may be capable of transferring heat between the pluggable auxiliary device and the cold plate at a rate of at least 0.005 W per spring finger contact per 1 °C temperature difference between the liquid coolant and the pluggable auxiliary device (i.e., the total thermal conductivity is equal to the total number of spring finger contacts multiplied by 0.005 and multiplied by the temperature difference between the liquid coolant and the pluggable auxiliary device). In other words, each spring finger contact may have a thermal resistance of approximately 200 °C / W or less. Thus, for example, a corrugated thermal interface device having 400 spring finger contacts operating at a 20 °C temperature difference will transfer 40 W of heat. Additionally, the spring fingers can allow for relatively low insertion and removal forces to insert or remove the pluggable device, e.g., approximately 5 lbf (22.2 N) or less in some embodiments, or approximately 25 lbf (111.2 N) or less in other embodiments. Further, the spring fingers can be made from a relatively resilient material (e.g., a copper alloy) and are able to withstand many insertion / removal cycles without replacement (e.g., as opposed to a thermal gap pad or a thermal grease or thermal adhesive, where the thermal gap pad may fail after a few insertion / removal cycles and the thermal grease or thermal adhesive may require frequent reapplication).

[0033] In various examples disclosed herein, both the pluggable auxiliary device and the main electronic device are provided with fin groups (e.g., extruded fins). The fins of the auxiliary device are thermally coupled to a heat source (e.g., an electronic circuit) in the auxiliary device. The fins of the main electronic device are thermally coupled to a cold plate. When the auxiliary device is inserted into the socket of the main electronic device, the fins of the main device and the auxiliary device are arranged to be interleaved, with a corrugated thermal interface device located between the two sets of fins and engaging with the two sets of fins. In particular, before the auxiliary device is inserted into the main electronic device, a first side of the corrugated thermal interface device is attached to a first set of fins (the first set of fins can be the fins of the auxiliary device in some examples, or the fins of the main device in other examples), and the first set of fins is received within a first set of grooves defined by the folded fins on the first side of the corrugated thermal interface device. Then, when the pluggable auxiliary device is inserted into the main electronic device, a second side of the corrugated thermal interface device removably engages with a second set of fins (the second set of fins can be the fins of the main device in some examples, or the fins of the auxiliary device in other examples), and the second set of fins is received within a second set of grooves defined by the folded fins on the second side of the corrugated thermal interface device. Spring fingers extend laterally from the lateral walls of the folded fins into the second set of grooves, so that when the second set of fins is received within the second set of grooves, the second set of fins contacts the spring fingers and elastically deforms them. Thus, the first side of the corrugated thermal interface device is thermally coupled to the auxiliary device or the cold plate due to being attached to the fins of the auxiliary device or the cold plate, and the second side of the corrugated thermal interface device is thermally coupled to the cold plate or the other of the auxiliary device due to the spring fingers contacting the fins of the cold plate or the other of the auxiliary device, and thus the corrugated thermal interface device forms a heat conduction path between the auxiliary device and the cold plate.

[0034] In addition, since the folded fins of the corrugated thermal interface device are folded, the surface area of the corrugated thermal interface device is greater than the surface area of a flat surface of a similar occupied area. More specifically, even considering only the lateral walls of the folded fins (since this is where the spring fingers are provided), the total surface area of these lateral walls on one side of the corrugated thermal interface device can be much greater than the surface area of a flat surface of a similar occupied area. Since the corrugated thermal interface device has a larger surface area where spring fingers can be arranged, more spring fingers can be provided on the corrugated thermal interface device than can be provided on a flat surface of a similar occupied area (assuming the same spring finger size and spacing for both). The specific number of spring fingers increased by using the corrugated thermal interface device compared to a flat surface may vary from system to system, depending on various parameters (e.g., the number of folded fins, the size of the folded fins, etc.), but in many configurations, the increase in the number of spring fingers can be significant. For example, in one having approximately 8.0 in 2 (51.6 cm 2) in the corrugated thermal interface device with the occupied area, the total surface area of the lateral wall on one side of the corrugated thermal interface device can be about 21 in 2 (135.5 cm 2 ), thereby allowing more than twice as many spring fingers to be arranged on the lateral wall of the corrugated thermal interface device than can be arranged on a flat surface with the same occupied area. The increase in the number of spring fingers on the corrugated heat conduction device allows for a larger total contact area between the spring fingers and the cooling plate or auxiliary device, and thus a greater heat conduction rate between them.

[0035] In addition, the use of the corrugated thermal interface device can allow a specific pluggable auxiliary device used in an air-cooled system to be relatively easily converted for use in a liquid-cooled system. For example, some industry-standard or "off-the-shelf" pluggable auxiliary devices that are primarily (or specifically) designed for air cooling can also be capable of liquid cooling without extensive re-design or modification (e.g., including in some 100% liquid-cooled systems without forced air flow). For example, a pluggable auxiliary device designed for an air-cooled system can have a heat sink including a set of fins that are arranged to receive air flowing through / past / around the fins and exchange heat with the air flow. To achieve liquid cooling of such a pluggable auxiliary device according to the aspects disclosed herein, the fins of the cooling plate of the liquid-cooled system and the dimensions of the corrugated thermal interface device can be designed to be able to engage the fins of the heat sink. The corrugated thermal interface device can be attached to the pluggable auxiliary device or to the fins of the cooling plate, and then the fins of the heat sink can be engaged with the fins of the cooling plate, while the corrugated thermal interface device is disposed between them in the manner described above. Thus, the conversion of the pluggable auxiliary device to allow liquid cooling may not require modification of the pluggable auxiliary device or may require minimal modification of the pluggable auxiliary device (i.e., attaching the corrugated thermal interface device to the fins of the heat sink) in an example where the corrugated thermal interface device is attached to the cooling plate. The ability of the liquid-cooled system to utilize the same pluggable auxiliary devices that the air-cooled system can utilize can significantly reduce costs and allow for greater flexibility.

[0036] Now referring to the accompanying drawings, various devices, systems, and methods of the present disclosure are described.

[0037] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing system 100. It should be understood that Figure 1 is not intended to accurately or to scale show specific shapes, dimensions, or other structural details, and embodiments of system 100 may have different numbers and arrangements of the shown components and may also include other components not shown.

[0038] As Figure 1As shown, system 100 includes a first electronic device 110, a second electronic device 120, and a corrugated thermal interface device 130. The second electronic device 120 is a pluggable auxiliary device configured to be removably inserted into the first electronic device 110, and the corrugated thermal interface device 130 forms a thermal interface therebetween.

[0039] The first electronic device 110 includes a chassis 111, a first set of fins 112, electronic circuitry 113, a connector 114, and a cold plate 115. The first electronic device 110 can be any type of electronic device that can accept a pluggable auxiliary device, such as including a computing system (e.g., a server, a high-performance computing system (HPC), a converged system, a hyperconverged system, a blade server system, a composable infrastructure system, etc.), a network device (e.g., a switch, a router, etc.), a power unit or a power distribution unit, or other similar electronic devices. The electronic circuitry 113 can include any type of electronic circuitry, such as processing circuitry, memory devices, power conversion circuitry, optical transceiver circuitry (which can include, for example, a light source (e.g., a laser), a light sensor (e.g., a photodiode, etc.). The connector 114 includes an electrical connector, an optical connector, or other connectors for mating with a complementary connector (e.g., connector 124) to establish a signal transmission / communication path to another device (e.g., the second electronic device 120). The mating of connectors 114 and 124 can include physical engagement and / or being placed close enough and aligned to exchange signals. The chassis 111 includes a structure that supports and / or houses other parts of the device 110. The chassis 111 also includes a socket 116 that is configured to removably receive at least a portion of the second electronic device 120 therein to removably couple the first electronic device 110 and the second electronic device 120 together. The first set of fins 112 is coupled to a common base and extends therefrom, the common base being part of the cold plate 115 or thermally coupled to the cold plate, and the fins 112 are arranged to transfer heat into the cold plate 115. The first set of fins 112 at least partially extends into the socket 116 such that when the second electronic device 120 is inserted into the socket 116, the first set of fins can be interleaved with a second set of fins 122 of the second electronic device 120. The first set of fins 112 can be formed of a thermally conductive material, such as copper (or its alloy), aluminum (or its alloy), steel, thermally conductive plastic, etc. For example, the fins 112 can be formed by extrusion, machining (e.g., turning), molding, casting, or additive manufacturing (e.g., 3D printing).

[0040] The second electronic device 120 includes a chassis 121, a second set of fins 122, an electronic circuit 123, and a connector 124. The second electronic device 120 can be any type of pluggable auxiliary device, such as including a pluggable optical connector / transceiver (e.g., QSFP connector, OSFP connector, etc.), a PCIe card, an SSD (e.g., NVMe SSD, M.2 SSD, etc.), a hard disk drive, a power supply, or other similar devices. The electronic circuit 123 can include any type of electronic circuit, such as an optical transceiver circuit, a processing circuit, a memory device, etc. The connector 124 includes an electrical connector, an optical connector, or other connectors for mating with the connector 114 to establish a signal transmission / communication path to the first electronic device 110. The chassis 121 includes a structure for supporting and / or housing other parts of the device 120. The second set of fins 122 is coupled to a common base and extends therefrom, and the common base is thermally coupled to the electronic circuit 123 such that the fins 122 carry heat away from the electronic circuit 123. In some examples, the fins 112 can be configured as a heat sink for air-cooling the pluggable auxiliary device 120 when used in an air-cooled system. The second set of fins 122 is at least partially exposed to the exterior of the device 120 such that when the second electronic device 120 is inserted into the socket 116, the second set of fins can be interleaved with the first set of fins 112. The second set of fins 122 can be formed in a manner similar to the first set of fins 112.

[0041] As described above, the second electronic device 120 is configured to be inserted into the socket 116 of the first electronic device 110. When the second electronic device 120 is inserted, the connectors 114 and 124 are coupled together and communicatively connect the first electronic device 110 and the second electronic device 120 such that signals (e.g., electrical signals, optical signals, etc.) can be transmitted therebetween. In addition, when the second electronic device 120 is inserted into the socket 116, the first set of fins 112 and the second set of fins 122 are interleaved, and a corrugated thermal interface device 130 (described further below) is disposed between the two sets of fins 112 and 122 and engages with the two sets of fins.

[0042] The corrugated thermal interface device 130 includes a plurality of folded fins 131 that are coupled together to form a corrugated shape. Each folded fin 131 includes a pair of sidewalls 133 and ends 134. The sidewalls 133 generally face the lateral direction, which means that the faces of the sidewalls 133 are substantially perpendicular to the lateral direction. Thus, the faces of the sidewalls 133 generally extend (i.e., are substantially parallel) in the height dimension 139 of the folded fin 131 (see Figure 1 ) and generally extend (i.e., are substantially parallel) in the longitudinal dimension of the folded fin 131 (perpendicular to Figure 1in the page). The side walls 133 may be slightly angled relative to the height dimension 139, i.e., not necessarily exactly parallel thereto. In some examples, the side walls 133 are within + / - 10 degrees of being parallel to the height dimension 139. The side walls 133 are spaced apart from each other along the lateral dimension 138. A pair of side walls 133 of a given folded fin 131 are joined together by a first end 134 of the folded fin 131, the first end 134 being located at one end of the folded fin 131. A pair of adjacent folded fins 131 are joined together by a second end 135, the second end being located at the ends of the two folded fins 131 opposite their respective first ends 134, as Figure 1 shown. The ends 134 and 135 extend at least partially along the lateral dimension 138 between adjacent side walls 133 and also along the longitudinal dimension. Although schematically shown as flat in Figure 1 , the end 134 can be curved, flat, angled, pointed, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the ends 134 and 135 are integrally joined to the side walls 133 and include one or more bent, curved, and / or folded segments to form a transition between the side walls 133 and the ends 134 or 135.

[0043] The folded fins 131 define a first set of grooves 141 on a first side of the corrugated thermal interface device 130 and a second set of grooves 142 on a second side of the corrugated thermal interface device 130. Each groove in the first set of grooves 141 is defined by a side wall 133 and a first end 134 of one of the folded fins 131, while each groove in the second set of grooves 142 is defined by two side walls 133 of a pair of adjacent folded fins 131 and a second end 135 joining the two folded fins 131 together. Both the first set of grooves 141 and the second set of grooves 142 extend along the longitudinal dimension of the folded fins 131. Additionally, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 includes a plurality of spring fingers 132 (only some are labeled in Figure 1 ), which are joined to the side walls 133 of the folded fins 131 and extend at least partially in the lateral direction from the side walls (only some are labeled in Figure 1 ). The spring fingers 132 may also extend at least partially in the longitudinal direction such that the spring fingers 132 are angled relative to the side walls 133.

[0044] The corrugated thermal interface device 130 can be formed from one or more thermally conductive materials, including in some cases highly thermally conductive materials. Additionally, the material of at least the spring fingers 132 can be relatively elastic and strong in addition to being thermally conductive (highly thermally conductive in some cases), to allow the spring fingers 132 to act as springs (i.e., elastically deform when displaced laterally by contact with the fins 122) and withstand repeated insertion and removal of the second electronic device 120. For example, in some examples, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 (including the spring fingers 132) is made of metal, such as copper, copper alloys (such as copper-beryllium alloy, copper-zirconium alloy, etc.), aluminum alloy, or other similar materials.

[0045] The corrugated thermal interface device 130 can be formed from a single piece of metal sheet that is shaped (e.g., folded) to obtain a corrugated shape with multiple folded fins 131. Alternatively, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 can be formed from separate parts that are joined together (e.g., by welding, brazing, mechanical fastening techniques, etc.); for example, discrete segments including one folded fin 131 or a subset of integrally connected folded fins 131 can be formed separately and then joined together to form the corrugated shape. The corrugated thermal interface device 130 can be formed by a variety of techniques, including but not limited to machining one or more pieces of material (e.g., by cutting out grooves 141 and 142 in a solid block of material), extrusion, and / or additive manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing.

[0046] The spring fingers 132 can be formed before the folded fins 131 are formed (e.g., before bending a sheet of metal into a corrugated shape), after the corrugated shape is formed, or simultaneously. In some examples, the spring fingers 132 are integral (part of the same monolithic body) with the lateral wall 133. For example, the spring fingers 132 can be formed by removing a portion of the lateral wall 133 (or a portion of the material that will ultimately become the lateral wall 133 in the case where the spring fingers 132 are formed before the corrugations), while leaving one end integrally coupled to the remaining portion of the lateral wall 133, and then bending this separated portion in the lateral direction. Although the foregoing cutting and bending are described as and can be separate operations, in some examples, the cutting and bending to form the spring fingers 132 can occur as part of the same operation (e.g., stamping the lateral wall 133 to simultaneously cut out and bend the spring fingers 132). As another example, the spring fingers 132 can be formed simultaneously with the lateral wall 133 during a molding, casting, die-casting, or additive manufacturing process. In still some other examples, the spring fingers 132 are formed separately from the lateral wall 133 and subsequently coupled to the lateral wall, such as by brazing, welding, bonding, etc. Additionally, although in some examples the spring fingers 132 and the lateral wall 133 are formed of the same type of material, in some examples, the spring fingers 132 and the lateral wall 133 can be of different types of materials.

[0047] As described above, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 is configured to engage two sets of fins 112 and 122 when the second electronic device 120 is inserted into the socket 116. More specifically, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 is attached to one set of fins 112 or 122 and removably engages the other set of fins 122 or 112 when the second electronic device 120 is inserted into the socket 116. In particular, one set of fins 112 or 122 is received within the first set of grooves 141 and is attached to the corrugated thermal interface device 130, for example, by mechanical fasteners, welding, soldering, adhesives, friction fits, and / or other connection mechanisms. In this attached state, the set of fins 112 or 122 is thermally coupled to at least some of the lateral walls 133 of the corrugated thermal interface device 130 (e.g., they are in direct physical contact with each other or in contact with a thermal conduction medium such as solder, TIM, etc.). In addition, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 is configured to removably engage the other set of fins 122 or 112 by receiving the other set of fins 122 or 112 within the second set of grooves 142 in response to the insertion of the second electronic device 120 into the socket 116 (when the second electronic device 120 is pulled out of the socket 116, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 disengages from the other set of fins 122 or 112). When the other set of fins 122 or 112 is received within the second set of grooves 142, the fins 112 or 122 contact and displace the spring fingers 132 that extend into the grooves 142. The spring fingers 132 displace rearward in a lateral direction toward the lateral walls 133 to which they are coupled. The displacement of the spring fingers 132 causes their elastic deformation, thereby generating a restoring spring force that pushes the spring fingers in a lateral direction opposite to the displacement direction, thereby pressing the spring fingers 132 against the lateral surfaces of the fins 112 or 122, thereby ensuring that the spring fingers 132 maintain contact with the fins 112 or 122. In some examples, in addition to extending laterally from the lateral walls 133, the spring fingers 132 are angled so as to extend at least partially in the same direction as the direction in which the fins 112 or 122 are inserted into the second set of grooves 142.

[0048] In some examples, the first set of fins 112 is received within the first set of grooves 141 and attached to the corrugated thermal interface device 130, and the second set of fins 122 is removably received within the second set of grooves 142 and engageable with the spring fingers 132, as Figure 1 shown by the dashed arrows in. In other words, in these examples, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 remains attached to the first electronic device 110 (inside the socket 116) and removably engages the second electronic device 120. It should be noted that Figure 1The dashed arrows therein are for indicating the positions of the fins 112 and 122 when they are engaged with the corrugated thermal interface device 130, but it is not necessary to show the movement directions of the fins 112 or 122 during the engagement process. For example, the second set of fins 122 can be received in the second set of grooves 142 by moving parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the folded fin 131.

[0049] In other examples, the second set of fins 122 is received within the first set of grooves 141 and attached to the corrugated thermal interface device 130, and the first set of fins 112 is removably received within the second set of grooves 142 and can be engaged with the spring fingers 132. In other words, in these examples, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 remains attached to the second electronic device 120 and is removably engaged with the first electronic device 110. In such examples, the orientation of the corrugated thermal interface device 130 can be opposite to that depicted in Figure 1 such that the first set of grooves 141 faces the second set of fins 122 and the second set of grooves 142 faces the first set of fins 112.

[0050] Regardless of which of the above arrangements is used, in the state where the second electronic device 120 is inserted into the socket 116, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 is thermally coupled to both the first set of fins 112 and the second set of fins 122 (either by being attached or by contacting the spring fingers 132). Thus, the first set of fins 112, the second set of fins 122, and the corrugated thermal interface device 130 together form a heat conduction path between the electronic circuit 123 and the cooling plate 115, thereby allowing the heat generated by the electronic circuit 123 to be effectively removed into the cooling plate 115 (for example, whereby the heat can be transferred to a liquid coolant). Figure 1 The system of can allow a relatively high heat conductivity between the electronic circuit 123 and the cooling plate 115 without some of the disadvantages associated with other cooling methods mentioned above.

[0051] In addition, the corrugated thermal interface device 130 allows the omission of TIM between contact surfaces that move relative to each other and rub against each other during the insertion and removal of the second electronic device 120. These surfaces include, for example, the surface of the corrugated thermal interface device 130 facing the second set of grooves 142 and the surface of any set of fins 112 or 122 removably received in the second set of grooves 142. By not using TIM on surfaces that do not move relative to each other and rub against each other during insertion / removal, the above-described problems associated with TIM being peeled off or damaged by such moving contact surfaces can be avoided. However, it should be understood that the problem of TIM being peeled off or damaged by insertion / removal does not necessarily occur for contact surfaces that do not move relative to each other during insertion / removal. Therefore, in the various systems disclosed herein, TIM can be used between certain surfaces that do not move relative to each other during insertion / removal, such as between the second set of fins 122 and the electronic circuit 123, between the first set of fins 112 and the cooling plate 115 (if they are not part of the same body), or between the surface of the corrugated thermal interface device 130 facing the first set of grooves 141 and the surface of any set of fins 112 or 122 removably received in the first set of grooves 141. Additionally, in some cases, if desired, TIM can even be applied between moving surfaces, although this may result in some of the above-mentioned disadvantages.

[0052] In Figure 1 and the above description, for ease of description, the various parts are described separately, but it should be understood that these separately described parts can be parts of the same overall entity. For example, the second set of fins can be integral with the chassis 121 of the second electronic device 120 (parts of the same overall entity). As another example, the first set of fins 112 can be integral with the cooling plate 115 (parts of the same overall entity). As another example, the spring fingers 132 can be integral with the sidewall 133 of the corrugated thermal interface device 130 (parts of the same overall entity).

[0053] Now referring Figure 2 , a block diagram of an electronic device including a corrugated thermal interface device conceptually showing various aspects in accordance with the present disclosure is described. It should be understood that Figure 2 is not intended to accurately or to scale show specific shapes, dimensions, or other structural details, and embodiments of the electronic device 200 can have different numbers and arrangements of the shown components and can also include other components not shown. The various components of the electronic device 200 can be similar to the components of the above-described system 100. The above description of the various components of the system 100 applies to similar components of the electronic device 200, and thus the repetitive description is omitted hereinafter for greater clarity.

[0054] The electronic device 200 includes a chassis 211, a set of fins 212, an electronic circuit 213, a connector 214, and a corrugated thermal interface device 230. The chassis 211 includes a structure that supports and / or houses other parts of the device 200. The chassis 211 is configured to be removably coupled to another electronic device (not shown). For example, in some examples, the other electronic device is a pluggable auxiliary device, and the chassis 211 is configured to be removably coupled to the other electronic device by removably receiving at least a portion of the other electronic device within a socket (not shown) defined by the chassis 211. In such examples, the electronic device 200 may be similar to the first electronic device 110 described above. In other examples, the electronic device 200 is a pluggable auxiliary device, and the chassis 211 is configured to be coupled to another electronic device by being removably received within a socket of the other electronic device. In such examples, the electronic device 200 may be similar to the second electronic device 120 described above. The electronic circuit 213 may be similar to the electronic circuits 113 and / or 123 described above. The connector 214 may be similar to the connectors 114 and / or 124 described above.

[0055] The corrugated thermal interface device 230 may be similar to the corrugated thermal interface device 130 described above. The corrugated thermal interface device 230 includes a plurality of folded fins 231 (which may be similar to the folded fins 131) and a plurality of spring fingers 232 that extend laterally from the sidewalls of the folded fins 231 (which may be similar to the spring fingers 132). The folded fins 231 define a first set of grooves 241 (similar to the grooves 141) on a first side of the corrugated thermal interface device 230, and a second set of grooves 242 (similar to the grooves 142) on a second side of the corrugated thermal interface device 230. Each spring finger 232 extends into one of the grooves 242.

[0056] As Figure 2 shown, the corrugated thermal interface device 230 engages the fins 212. Specifically, the fins 212 are received within the first set of grooves 241. Additionally, the corrugated thermal interface device 230 is attached to the fins 212. The fins 212 may be similar to the fins 112 or 122 described above. In an example where the electronic device 200 is a pluggable auxiliary device, the fins 212 may be thermally coupled to the electronic circuit 213 to remove heat therefrom. In an example where the other electronic device is a pluggable auxiliary device to be received by the electronic device 200, the fins 212 may be thermally coupled to a cooling plate (not shown) of the electronic device 200 such that the cooling plate can remove heat from the fins 212.

[0057] In some examples, the corrugated thermal interface device 230 is configured to removably engage with another set of fins (not shown) of another electronic device when the other electronic device is coupled to the electronic device 200. The other set of fins is removably engaged with the corrugated thermal interface device 230 by being removably received in the second set of grooves 242 and contacting the spring fingers 232, in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the corrugated thermal interface device 130. If the electronic device 200 is a pluggable auxiliary device, the other set of fins of the other electronic device may be thermally coupled to a cooling plate of the other electronic device. On the other hand, if the electronic device 200 is a main device that removably receives a pluggable auxiliary device, the other set of fins of the pluggable auxiliary electronic device may be thermally coupled to the electronic circuitry of the pluggable auxiliary device to remove heat therefrom. In any case, when the electronic device 200 is coupled to another electronic device, the fins 212, the corrugated thermal interface device 230, and the other fins of the other electronic device form a thermally conductive path to transfer heat from a heat source (which may be the electronic circuitry 213 of the electronic device 200 in some examples, or the electronic circuitry of the other electronic device in other examples) to a cooling plate (which may be part of the other electronic device in some examples, or part of the electronic device 200 in some examples).

[0058] Reference is now made Figures 3 to 14 , to describe a corrugated thermal interface device 330 (see Figures 7 to 12 ), a pluggable auxiliary device 320 attached with the corrugated thermal interface device 330 (see Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 13 ), and a system 300 including the pluggable auxiliary device 320, the corrugated thermal interface device 330, and an electronic device 310 (see Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 14 ). Although the components including the corrugated thermal interface device 330 attached to the pluggable auxiliary device 320 are described together below, the corrugated thermal interface device 330 may be provided separately from the pluggable auxiliary device 320 and may be used with other devices in other examples. In addition, the components of the pluggable auxiliary device 320 attached with the corrugated thermal interface device 330 may be provided separately from the electronic device 310 and may be used with other devices other than the electronic device 310.

[0059] System 300 can be used as the above-described System 100 (e.g., is a configuration thereof). Similarly, the corrugated thermal interface device 330 is a configuration of the above-described corrugated thermal interface device 130. In addition, the assembly including the pluggable auxiliary device 320 with the corrugated thermal interface device 330 attached is an example of the pluggable auxiliary device 120 with the corrugated thermal interface device 130 attached. Thus, the various components of System 300 can be similar to the components of the above-described System 100. The above description of the components of System 100 applies to the similar components of System 300, and thus, for the sake of clarity, the repeated description is omitted hereinafter. The last two digits of the reference numerals of the similar components of Systems 100 and 300 are the same, e.g., 110 and 310. Although System 300 can be a configuration of System 100, System 100 is not limited to System 300.

[0060] Various elements or components of System 300 are shown in multiple figures. Since the elements are described hereinafter, one or several figures particularly relevant to the described elements will be referred to, and thus it will not be necessary to describe hereinafter separately and in a strict order Figures 3 to 14 , but to refer back and forth between different figures. In addition, it should be understood that when referring to some of the figures related to a particular element, other figures in addition to the specified figures may also show the same part from other perspectives.

[0061] In Figures 3 to 5 , the pluggable auxiliary device 320 including a chassis 321, a set of fins 322, and a connector 324 is shown. The pluggable auxiliary device 320 can be used as the above-described second electronic device 120. The pluggable auxiliary device 320 may also include an electronic circuit (not visible) housed within the chassis 321, which may be similar to the above-described electronic circuit 123. The fins 322 are part of the chassis 321 (i.e., integrally coupled). For example, the fins 322 and the part of the chassis 321 integrally coupled thereto may be formed by extruding a piece of metal into a desired shape. The connector 324 is an electronic connector including electrical contacts (e.g., a PCB edge connector). The pluggable auxiliary device 320 also includes an electronic circuit (not shown) supported by and / or housed within the chassis 321 and thermally coupled to the fins 322. This electronic circuit may be similar to the above-described electronic circuit 113.

[0062] The pluggable auxiliary device 320 is configured to engage with the corrugated thermal interface device 330, which can be attached to the set of fins 322 in the assembled state. The corrugated thermal interface device 330 can be used as the above-described corrugated thermal interface device 130 or 230. Figure 3 The pluggable auxiliary device 320 and the corrugated thermal interface device 330 are shown in an unassembled state, while Figure 4 and Figure 13Shows the pluggable auxiliary device 320 and the corrugated thermal interface device 330 in an assembled state, in which the corrugated thermal interface device 330 is attached to the pluggable auxiliary device 320. The pluggable auxiliary device 320 together with the attached corrugated thermal interface device 330 can be used as the aforementioned electronic device 200.

[0063] As Figure 5 and Figure 6 shown, the pluggable auxiliary device 320 with the corrugated thermal interface device 330 attached can be used in combination with the electronic device 310, and these devices together form a system 300 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The electronic device 310 can be used as the first electronic device 110. As Figure 5 shown, the electronic device 310 further includes a chassis 311, a set of fins 312, and a cooling plate 315. The pluggable auxiliary device 320 is configured to be removably inserted into the electronic device 310 by being inserted into a socket 316 of the electronic device 310. Figure 5 Shows the pluggable auxiliary device 320 (with the corrugated thermal interface device 330 attached) in a state of being pulled out of the socket 316, while Figure 6 and Figure 14 shows the pluggable auxiliary device 320 in a state of being inserted (received) into the socket 316.

[0064] The chassis 311 supports and / or houses the components of the electronic device 310. In addition, the chassis 311 includes the aforementioned socket 316. As Figure 5 shown, the socket 316 can include a plurality of walls that at least partially enclose a volume 319. When the pluggable auxiliary device 320 is inserted into the socket 316, the pluggable auxiliary device 320 is inserted through an opening of the socket 316 and at least partially received in the volume 319. In some examples, the opening of the socket 316 can be exposed to the outside of the electronic device 310 (e.g., can be located at the outer wall of the chassis 311), so that the pluggable auxiliary device 320 can be inserted into the volume 319 from the outside of the electronic device 310. The electronic device 310 may further include a connector (not shown) that is configured to engage (or be positioned close enough to exchange signals) with a connector 324 of the pluggable auxiliary device 320 to communicatively couple the pluggable auxiliary device 320 to the electronic circuit of the electronic device 310. The chassis 311 may also include additional components other than those shown in Figure 5 For ease of description and to avoid confusing other elements, these additional components are omitted from the figure. Examples of such additional components of the chassis 311 may include additional sockets for other types of pluggable devices, support structures, compartments for supporting and / or housing other components of the electronic device 310, a housing including walls surrounding various other parts of the electronic device 310, and other components familiar to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0065] The fin 312 is thermally coupled to the cooling plate 315 and extends into the socket 316 (i.e., the fin extends into the volume 319 and is exposed to the volume). The cooling plate 315 is part of a liquid cooling circuit and is thermally coupled to a liquid coolant flow during operation of the device 320. In some examples, the liquid coolant flow is directly exposed to the cooling plate 315. For example, the cooling plate 315 may have one or more channels (not shown) extending through the cooling plate 315 through which the liquid coolant flows such that the liquid coolant is exposed to the inner surface of the cooling plate. In another arrangement, the outer surface of the cooling plate 315 may form one boundary of a liquid chamber defined by the cooling plate 315 and a cover coupled thereto, and the liquid coolant flows through the liquid chamber and is exposed to the outer surface of the cooling plate 315. In other examples, the cooling plate 315 is thermally coupled to a separate conduit (e.g., a hose) that carries the liquid coolant flow and transfers heat to the liquid coolant via conduction through the separate conduit. The electronic device 310 may also include electronic circuitry (not shown), which may be similar to the electronic circuitry 113 described above. In some arrangements, the electronic circuitry is also cooled by the liquid cooling circuit, e.g., by the same liquid coolant flow that cools the cooling plate 315. As Figure 6 shown, the cooling plate 315 may also extend beyond the socket 316 to cool other components. For example, the cooling plate 315 may extend across a group of multiple sockets, which may be similar to or different from the socket 316, such that the cooling plate 315 can remove heat from multiple pluggable auxiliary devices inserted into the electronic device 310 simultaneously. Various other components of the electronic device 310 have been omitted from the figure to improve visibility of other portions, but one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the electronic device 310 may have such components.

[0066] As Figure 5 、 Figure 6 and Figure 14 shown, in a state where the pluggable auxiliary device 320 is inserted into the electronic device 310, two sets of fins 312 and 322 are interlaced with each other, while the corrugated thermal interface device 330 is disposed between the two sets of fins 312 and 322 and engages with the two sets of fins. In the illustrated system, in order to insert the pluggable auxiliary device 320 into the socket 316, the pluggable auxiliary device 320 is moved in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the folded fin 331 (as shown by the dashed arrow in Figure 5 ), such that the fins 312 of the electronic device 310 slide into the space between the fins 322 of the pluggable auxiliary device 320 (the fins 312 also slide into the space between the folded fins 331 and into a second set of grooves 342, which will be described in more detail below).

[0067] As Figures 7 to 12As shown, the corrugated thermal interface device 330 includes a plurality of folded fins 331 (only some are labeled in the figure) and a plurality of spring fingers 332 (only some are labeled in the figure) that are coupled to the folded fins 331 and extend laterally from the folded fins. More specifically, as Figure 7 and Figure 9 shown, each folded fin 331 includes a pair of side walls 333 (only some are labeled in the figure), and the pair of side walls are joined together at their first ends by a first end portion 334 (in some examples, excluding one or two outermost fins 331, which may include a single side wall 333). Adjacent folded fins 331 are joined together at their second ends by a second end portion 335. As Figure 8 and Figure 9 shown, a subset of the plurality of spring fingers 332 extends from each side wall 333 and extends into a groove 342 defined by adjacent folded fins 331, as further described below. As Figures 7 to 12 shown, the spring fingers 332 are arranged in multiple rows and multiple columns. As will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, the number and arrangement of the spring fingers 332 of each side wall 333 may be different from that depicted.

[0068] As Figure 7 、 Figure 9 and Figure 10 shown, the folded fins 331 define a first set of grooves 341 (also referred to as "first grooves") on a first side of the corrugated thermal interface device 330 (e.g., on its bottom side in the orientation as Figures 3 to 14 shown). Each first groove 341 is defined by two side walls 333 and a first end portion 334 of a corresponding folded fin 331. As shown by the dashed arrow in Figure 3 , these first grooves 341 are configured to receive the fins 322 of the pluggable auxiliary device 320, thereby creating the Figure 4 and Figure 13 shown engagement state. The corrugated thermal interface device 330 is attached to the fins 322 in this engagement state (e.g., by welding, soldering, brazing, adhesive bonding, friction fitting, mechanical fasteners, and / or other similar attachment techniques). As Figure 13 shown, in the engaged and attached state of the corrugated thermal interface device 330 and the fins 322, the fins 322 contact the side walls 333 of the folded fins 331.

[0069] As Figure 7 、 Figure 9 and Figure 13 shown, the folded fins 331 also define a second set of grooves 343 (also referred to as "second grooves") on a second side of the corrugated thermal interface device 330 (e.g., in the orientation as Figures 3 to 14In the orientation shown, on its top side) defines a second set of grooves 342 (also referred to as "second grooves"), each second groove 342 being defined by the lateral walls 333 of two adjacent folded fins 331 and a second end 335 that joins these folded fins 331 together. When the pluggable auxiliary device 320 is inserted into the socket 316, the second grooves 342 are configured to removably receive the fins 312 of the electronic device 310, as Figure 14 shown.

[0070] As Figures 7 to 12 shown, the spring fingers 332 are integrally coupled to the lateral walls 333 and extend therefrom into the second grooves 342. The spring fingers 332 project into the second grooves 342 such that the fins 312 of the electronic device 310 contact and laterally displace the spring fingers 332 when the fins 312 are received within the grooves 342. Figures 10 to 12 The configuration of the spring fingers in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown in detail. As Figure 10 and Figure 11 shown, the spring fingers 332 have an attachment end 337 integrally coupled to the lateral walls 333 and a free end 336. As Figure 10 and Figure 12 shown, the spring fingers 332 bend away from the lateral walls 333 near the attachment end 337 such that the spring fingers 332 extend away from the lateral walls 333 at an angle. The spring fingers 332 are angled relative to the lateral walls 333 such that when the fins 312 are inserted into the second grooves 342 along the direction of the dashed arrow in Figure 12 , the fins 312 can relatively easily slide past the spring fingers 332. Further, the spring fingers 332 also bend toward the lateral walls 333 near the free ends 336 of the spring fingers 332 to allow the fins 312 to easily slide backward past the spring fingers 332 along a direction opposite to the dashed arrow in Figure 12 such that the fins 312 do not get caught on the free ends 336 of the spring fingers 332 when the fins 312 are removed from the second grooves 342. The portion that bends backward near the free ends 336 can also provide a relatively flat contact surface for the spring fingers 332, which can improve the contact area between the spring fingers 332 and the fins 312. The spring fingers 332 can be formed by cutting a portion of the lateral walls 333 into the overall profile of the spring fingers 332 while keeping one end of this portion uncut (this end becomes the attachment end 337), and then bending the cut portion such that the free ends 336 are laterally displaced away from the rest of the lateral walls 333 until the desired shape of the spring fingers 332 is obtained.

[0071] As described above, although the pluggable auxiliary device 320 attached with the corrugated thermal interface device 330 has been described above in the context of the system 300 and in connection with the electronic device 310 to facilitate understanding, the pluggable auxiliary device 320 attached with the corrugated thermal interface device 330 can be provided (e.g., manufactured, sold, used, offered for sale) by itself without being packaged with any other device. In addition, the pluggable auxiliary device 320 attached with the corrugated thermal interface device 330 can be used in combination with electronic devices other than the electronic device 310. The pluggable auxiliary device 320 attached with the corrugated thermal interface device 330 can be used as the above-described electronic device 200.

[0072] Now referring to Figures 15 to 20 , a cooling plate including a corrugated thermal interface device (see Figure 15 and Figure 16 ), an electronic device including a cooling plate assembly (see Figure 17 ), and a system including an electronic device and a pluggable auxiliary device (see Figures 18 to 20 ) will be described according to aspects of the present disclosure. For ease of description, the cooling plate, the corrugated thermal interface device, the electronic device, and the pluggable auxiliary device will be described together below in the context of a system, but those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the cooling plate attached with the corrugated thermal interface device can be provided separately from the electronic device and / or the pluggable auxiliary device and can be used in combination with other types of electronic devices and / or pluggable electronic devices.

[0073] Figures 18 to 20 The system 400 shown in

[0074] can be used as the above-described system 100 (e.g., is an example thereof). Similarly, the corrugated thermal interface device 430 is a configuration of the above-described corrugated thermal interface device 130. In addition, the assembly including the cooling plate 415 attached with the corrugated thermal interface device 430 is an example of the cooling plate 115 attached with the corrugated thermal interface device 130. Therefore, the various components of the system 400 can be similar to the components of the above-described system 100. The above description of the components of the system 100 applies to the similar components of the system 400, and thus the repeated description is omitted below for greater clarity. The last two digits of the reference numerals of the similar components of the systems 100 and 400 are the same, such as 110 and 410. Although the system 400 can be an example of the system 100, the system 100 is not limited to the system 400. The various elements or components of the system 400 are shown in multiple figures. Since the elements will be described below, one or several figures particularly related to the described elements will be referred to, and thus the figures will not be described separately and in a strict order below Figures 15 to 20, but rather refer back and forth between different figures. In addition, it should be understood that when referring to some of the figures related to a particular component, other figures in addition to the specified figures may also show the same part from other perspectives.

[0075] As Figure 15 and Figure 16 shown, the cooling plate 415 includes a base 418 and one or more sets of fins 412 coupled to the base 418. The fins 412 may be integrally formed with the base 418 of the cooling plate 415. For example, the fins 412 and a portion of the base 418 integral therewith may be formed together from the same piece of material by extrusion or other machining (e.g., turning), or the fins 412 and a portion of the base 418 integral therewith may be integrally formed by casting, molding, or additive manufacturing. Alternatively, the fins 412 and the base 418 may be formed separately from each other and then connected together, for example, by welding, soldering, mechanical fasteners, etc. In addition, the sets of fins 412 are configured to engage with a corrugated thermal interface device 430, and the corrugated thermal interface device 430 is attached to the cooling plate 415 in a state where it engages with the fins 412. Figure 15 shows the cooling plate 415 and the corrugated thermal interface device 430 in an unassembled state, while Figure 16 shows the cooling plate 415 and the corrugated thermal interface device 430 in an assembled state, in which the corrugated thermal interface device 430 engages with the fins 412 and is attached to the cooling plate 415.

[0076] Although for simplicity, Figure 15 and Figure 16 show a set of fins 412, the cooling plate 415 may have one or more sets of fins 412, and each set of fins 412 is similar to that depicted in Figure 15 and Figure 16 . More specifically, in such an example, each set of fins 412 is configured to interleave with a set of complementary fins (e.g., fins 422 that will be described in more detail) of the corresponding electronic device to be cooled by the cooling plate 415. In some examples, the cooling plate 415 has only one set of fins 412 to engage with a set of complementary fins of one electronic device, while in other examples, the cooling plate 415 is provided with multiple sets of fins 412 to engage with the fins of multiple electronic devices respectively (e.g., see the cooling plate 415 shown in Figure 19 and Figure 20 , which will be described in more detail below). In a configuration where the cooling plate 415 has multiple sets of fins 412, multiple corrugated thermal interface devices 430 may be provided to engage with the fins 412 respectively (e.g., each set of fins 412 engages with one corrugated thermal interface device 430), or a single corrugated thermal interface device 430 may be provided to engage with all sets of fins 412.

[0077] AsFigure 15 As shown, the corrugated thermal interface device 430 includes a plurality of folded fins 431 that define a first set of grooves 441 on a first side of the corrugated thermal interface device 430 and a second set of grooves 442 on its second side. As Figure 15 and Figure 16 shown, when the fin 412 is engaged with the corrugated thermal interface device 430, each fin 412 is received within a corresponding groove 441 of the first set of grooves 441, where at least a portion of the fin 412 contacts a portion of the corrugated thermal interface device 430 (e.g., the lateral surface of the fin 412 may contact the lateral wall 433 of the folded fin 431). As Figure 15 and Figure 16 shown, the corrugated thermal interface device 430 further includes spring fingers 432 that are coupled to the lateral wall 433 of the folded fin 431 and at least partially extend into the second set of grooves 442. The second set of grooves 442 is configured to receive another set of fins of an electronic device (such as a pluggable auxiliary device), as will be described in more detail below.

[0078] The cold plate 415 coupled with one or more corrugated thermal interface devices 430 can be used as part of an electronic device 410, such as a computing device, a network device, or other electronic devices configured to receive pluggable electronic devices. The electronic device 410 may be similar to the first electronic device 110. As Figure 19 and Figure 20 shown, the electronic device 410 includes an electronic circuit 413, one or more cold plates 415, one or more corrugated thermal interface devices 430 attached to the cold plate 415, and a chassis 411 that supports and / or houses the one or more cold plates 415 and the electronic circuit 413. In addition, the chassis 411 includes one or more sockets 416, each of which defines and partially encloses a volume 419, as Figure 17 and Figure 19 shown. Each socket 416 is configured to receive a pluggable auxiliary device, such as the pluggable auxiliary device 420, removably inserted therein, as Figures 17 to 20 shown. Figure 17 and Figure 19 show the unplugged state of a single pluggable auxiliary device 420 from the corresponding socket 416 (i.e., the state where the pluggable auxiliary device 420 is removed from the socket 416), while Figure 18 and Figure 20Shows the inserted state where the pluggable auxiliary device 420 is received in the corresponding socket 416. Each cooling plate 415 is positioned relative to one or more sockets 416 such that the fins 412 of the cooling plate 415 and one or more corrugated thermal interface devices 430 attached thereto extend into the volume 419 defined by the socket 416. In some arrangements, only one socket 416 and one cooling plate 415 are provided. In other arrangements, the chassis 411 includes a plurality of sockets 416. In some cases where the chassis 411 has a plurality of sockets 416, a single cooling plate 415 with multiple sets of fins 412 is provided, and each set of fins 412 extends into a corresponding one of the sockets 416, as Figure 19 and Figure 20 shown. In other cases where the chassis 411 has a plurality of sockets 416, a plurality of cooling plates 415 are provided (e.g., one cooling plate 415 for each socket 416). Although four sockets 416 and four corresponding sets of fins 412 are shown in Figure 19 , those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that any number of sockets 416 and sets of fins 412 can be provided. In addition, in addition to the socket 416, there may be other types of sockets in the electronic device 410.

[0079] As Figure 18 and Figure 19 shown, the pluggable auxiliary device 420 includes a chassis 421, electronic circuitry (not shown) supported by and / or housed within the chassis 421, and a set of fins 422 thermally coupled to the electronic circuitry. The pluggable auxiliary device 420 can be used as a second electronic device 120. In Figure 19 , the pluggable auxiliary device 420 is shown as a pluggable optical transceiver (e.g., QSFP+ connector, OSFP connector, etc.) coupled to one end of a communication optical cable. In other examples, the pluggable auxiliary device 420 can be any other type of pluggable auxiliary device. As Figure 18 shown, the fins 422 are configured to interleave with a corresponding set of fins 412 when the pluggable auxiliary device 420 is inserted into the socket 416, and the fins 422 are received within a second set of grooves 442 defined by the corrugated thermal interface device 430 coupled to the fins 412. When the fins 422 are inserted into the second set of grooves 442, the fins 422 contact and displace the spring fingers 432 such that they elastically deform and the restoring force presses the spring fingers 432 against the fins 422. Thus, a thermally conductive path is established between the electronic circuitry of the pluggable auxiliary device 420 and the cooling plate 415, which extends from the fins 422 into the spring fingers 432, then into the sidewall 433, then into the fins 412, and then into the base 418 of the cooling plate 415.

[0080] As Figure 19 and Figure 20As shown, the base 418 of the cooling plate 415 includes one or more coolant channels 417 through which a liquid coolant can flow to remove heat from the cooling plate 415. In some examples, the coolant channels 417 are defined by the inner surface of the base 418 such that the liquid coolant flowing through the coolant channels 417 is exposed to and impinges on the inner surface of the base 418, allowing heat transfer between the base 418 and the liquid coolant. These coolant channels 417 can be coupled at one end to a coolant supply line (not shown) of a liquid cooling circuit and at the other end to a coolant return line (not shown) of the liquid cooling circuit. A pump (not shown) can be fluidly coupled to the liquid supply line and the return line to cause the liquid to flow through the coolant channels 417.

[0081] In other configurations (not shown), instead of exposing the inner surface of the base 418 to the liquid coolant, the cooling plate 415 can be configured to expose the outer surface of the base 418 to the liquid coolant to transfer heat thereto. For example, a cover (not shown) can be coupled to the base 418 and define a chamber therebetween through which the liquid coolant can flow, with the top surface of the base 418 exposed to the liquid coolant in the chamber. In other examples (not shown), instead of directly exposing the surface of the base 418 to the liquid coolant, the cooling plate 415 can be configured to transfer heat from the cooling plate 415 indirectly into the liquid coolant. For example, a heat transfer device such as a heat pipe, a vacuum chamber, a metal rod can be thermally coupled to the cooling plate 415 and thermally coupled to another device through which the liquid coolant flows.

[0082] In the above description, different types of electronic circuits are described, including the electronic circuits of electronic circuits 113, 123, 213, 413 and the pluggable auxiliary devices 320 and 420. As used herein, "electronic" is intended to be understood broadly to include all types of circuits that utilize electricity, including digital and analog circuits, direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) circuits, circuits for converting electricity into another form of energy, and circuits that perform other functions using electricity. In other words, as used herein, there is no distinction between "electronic" circuits and "electrical" circuits. In some cases, some electronic circuits may include processing circuitry. Processing circuitry includes circuitry configured with logic for performing various operations. The logic of the processing circuitry may include dedicated hardware for performing various operations, software (machine-readable and / or processor-executable instructions) for performing various operations, or any combination thereof. In an example where the logic includes software, the processing circuitry may include a processor for executing the software instructions and a memory device for storing the software. The processor may include one or more processing devices capable of executing machine-readable instructions, such as a processor, a processor core, a central processing unit (CPU), a controller, a microcontroller, a system-on-chip (SoC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a graphics processing unit (GPU), etc. In cases where the processing circuitry includes dedicated hardware, in addition to or instead of the processor, the dedicated hardware may include any electronic device configured to perform a specific operation, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), discrete logic circuitry, a hardware accelerator, a hardware encoder, etc. The processing circuitry may also include any combination of dedicated hardware and processor plus software.

[0083] It should be understood that both the general description and the detailed description provide examples that are explanatory in nature and are intended to provide an understanding of the present disclosure rather than limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Various mechanical, compositional, structural, electronic, and operational changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this specification and the claims. In some instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring these examples. The same numerals in two or more figures represent the same or similar elements.

[0084] In addition, the spatial, positional, and relational terms used herein are chosen to assist the reader in understanding examples of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention to a particular frame of reference, orientation, or positional relationship. For example, herein, spatial, positional, and relational terms such as "above", "below", "lateral", "beneath", "under", "lower", "above", "upper", "near", "far", etc. may be used to describe a direction or the spatial relationship of one element or feature to another element or feature as shown in the figures. These spatial terms are used with reference to the frame of reference in the figures but are not limited to a particular frame of reference in the real world. Thus, for example, the "above" direction in the figures need not correspond to "above" in a real-world frame of reference (e.g., away from the earth's surface). Further, if a different frame of reference than that shown in the figures is considered, the spatial terms used herein may need to be interpreted differently in that different frame of reference. For example, a direction referred to as "above" with reference to one of the figures may correspond to a direction referred to as "below" with reference to a different frame of reference rotated 180 degrees from the frame of reference of that figure. As another example, if a device is flipped 180 degrees in a real-world frame of reference compared to the device shown in the figures, an item described herein as "above" or "over" a second item with reference to the figures will be "below" or "under" the second item with reference to the real-world frame of reference. Further, the poses of the items shown in the figures are chosen for ease of illustration and description, but in actual embodiments, the poses of the items may be different.

[0085] In addition, unless the context indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well. Further, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes", etc. indicate the presence of the stated features, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups. Unless otherwise expressly stated, components described as being coupled may be directly electrically or mechanically coupled, or they may be indirectly coupled via one or more intermediate components. Unless the context of the specification indicates otherwise, mathematical terms and geometric terms need not be used according to their strict definitions, because one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that, for example, substantially similar elements that function in a substantially similar manner can readily fall within the scope of the descriptive terms, even if the term also has a strict definition.

[0086] Elastic deformation: As used herein, a spring finger is elastically deformable (capable of elastic deformation) if the deformation of the spring finger is elastic within the operating range of its movement. The operating range of movement extends from the idle or nominal position of the spring finger to the position where the spring finger is displaced by a fin inserted into a groove in which the spring finger protrudes, or to a position where the free end of the spring finger is 1 mm from its idle position. The deformation of the spring finger is elastic if the deformation caused by the displacement is not permanent and the spring finger substantially returns to its original configuration when the force causing the displacement is removed.

[0087] Cooling plate: As used herein, a "cooling plate" is a device that receives heat from a solid body via conduction (contact) and dissipates the heat into a liquid coolant in a liquid cooling circuit. The liquid coolant can be in direct contact with the cooling plate (e.g., flowing through an internal chamber of the cooling plate) or can flow through another device that is thermally coupled to the cooling plate.

[0088] Thermal coupling: As used herein, "thermally coupling" two objects means providing a thermally conductive path between these objects that allows heat to conduct between these objects. Two objects can be considered to be thermally coupled if any one of the following is true: (1) the two objects are in contact with each other (direct contact or via TIM contact), (2) both objects are thermally coupled to a thermally conductive medium, such as a heat pipe, a heat sink, etc. (or to a chain of thermally conductive media that are thermally coupled together), or (3) the heat transfer coefficient between the two objects is 10 W·m -2 ·K -1 or greater.

[0089] Thermally conductive: An object, device, or component (which can include multiple different bodies that are thermally coupled and can include multiple different materials) is "thermally conductive" between two thermal interfaces if any one of the following is true: (1) the heat transfer coefficient between the thermal interfaces is 10 W·m -2 ·K -1 or greater at any temperature between 0 °C and 100 °C, (2) the object is a continuous material that has a thermal conductivity (commonly denoted as k, λ, or κ) between the two interfaces of 1 W·m -1 ·K -1 or greater at any temperature between 0 °C and 100 °C, (3) the object is a heat pipe, a vacuum chamber, a continuous copper body, or a continuous aluminum body. Examples of materials with a thermal conductivity greater than 1 W·m -1 ·K -1 between 0 °C and 100 °C include almost all metals (e.g., copper, aluminum, gold, etc.) and their alloys, some plastics (e.g., TC compounds, D series thermally conductive plastics), and many other materials.

[0090] High thermal conductivity: An object, device, or component (which may include multiple different bodies in thermal connection and may include a variety of different materials) is "highly thermally conductive" between two thermal interfaces if any of the following is true: (1) the heat transfer coefficient between the thermal interfaces is 1000 W·m -2 ·K -1 or greater at any temperature between 0 °C and 100 °C, (2) the object is a continuous material whose thermal conductivity (commonly denoted as k, λ, or κ) between the two interfaces is 100 W·m -1 ·K -1 or greater at any temperature between 0 °C and 100 °C, (3) the object is a heat pipe, a vacuum chamber, a continuous copper body, or a continuous aluminum body. Examples of materials with a thermal conductivity of 100 W·m -1 ·K -1 or greater between 0 °C and 100 °C include certain types of copper, aluminum, silver, and gold.

[0091] Longitudinal: As used herein, longitudinal refers to the direction parallel to the folded fin, i.e., the direction parallel to the maximum extent of a single folded fin (and also parallel to the groove defined by the folded fin). Thus, a reference herein to the longitudinal dimension of a folded fin should be understood to refer to the dimension of the corrugated thermal interface device parallel to the extension direction of each of its individual folded fins, which may or may not be the longest dimension of the entire corrugated thermal interface device.

[0092] Lateral: As used herein, lateral refers to the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal dimension and the height dimension of the folded fin, where the height dimension is the dimension of the second greatest extent of the folded fin.

[0093] Provide: As used herein, "providing" an item means having and / or controlling the item. This can include, for example, forming (or assembling) some or all of the item from its constituent materials and / or having or controlling the item that has been formed.

[0094] Unless otherwise explicitly stated, when the articles "a", "an", and "the" are used to describe an item without any explicit indication of singular or plural, it should be understood to mean "at least one" of the item. When these articles are used in this way, the words describing the (multiple) items may be written in the singular form, and for grammatical consistency, subsequent references to the item may include the definite pronoun "the", but this does not necessarily mean that only one item is being referred to. Thus, for example, a phrase such as "an optical socket, wherein, the optical socket..." can cover both the case of one optical socket and multiple optical sockets despite the use of the singular form and the definite pronoun.

[0095] And / or: Sometimes, the phrase "and / or" is used in combination with a list of items herein. This phrase means that any combination of the items in the list may be included, from a single item to all items, and any permutation therebetween. Thus, for example, "A, B, and / or C" means one of "{A}, {B}, {C}, {A, B}, {A, C}, {C, B}, and {A, C, B}".

[0096] Elements and their related aspects described in detail with reference to one example may be included, when feasible, in other examples in which they are not specifically shown or described. For example, if an element is described in detail with reference to one example and not described with reference to a second example, the element may still be claimed as being included in the second example.

[0097] Unless otherwise specified herein or the context implies otherwise, when approximate terms such as "substantially", "generally", "about", "approximately", "roughly", "overall", etc. are used, this should be understood to mean that mathematical precision is not required, but rather refers to including but not strictly limited to a certain range of variation of the recited value, characteristic, or relationship. In particular, except for any ranges specifically recited herein (if any), the range of variation implied by using such approximate terms includes at least any immaterial variations and those variations that are typical for items of the type being discussed due to manufacturing or other tolerances in the relevant field. In any case, unless otherwise indicated, the range of variation may include values within at least ±1% of the recited value, characteristic, or relationship.

[0098] In view of the disclosure herein, many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the devices and methods may include additional components or steps that are omitted from the figures and description for clarity of operation. Accordingly, this description is to be construed only as illustrative and is for the purpose of teaching those of ordinary skill in the art the general manner of carrying out the teachings. It is to be understood that the various examples shown and described herein are to be considered exemplary. Those shown and described herein may be replaced with elements and materials, and the arrangement of these elements and materials, the components and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the teachings may be utilized alone, all of which will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after benefiting from the description herein. Changes may be made to the elements described herein without departing from the scope of the teachings and the appended claims.

[0099] It is to be understood that the specific examples set forth herein are non-limiting and that modifications may be made to the structures, dimensions, materials, and methods without departing from the scope of the teachings.

[0100] Considering the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein, other examples in accordance with this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The specification and examples are intended to be considered only as exemplary, and the following claims will enjoy their broadest scope in accordance with applicable law, including equivalents.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: A chassis configured to be removably coupled to a second electronic device; A plurality of first fins configured to be interleaved with a plurality of second fins of the second electronic device in a coupled state of the electronic device and the second electronic device; And A corrugated thermal interface device comprising: A plurality of folded fins engaged with the plurality of first fins, each of the plurality of folded fins including one or more sidewalls, wherein the plurality of folded fins define a first set of grooves on a first side of the corrugated thermal interface device, and the plurality of first fins are located within the first set of grooves; and A plurality of spring fingers coupled to the sidewalls of the folded fins and extending at least partially in a lateral direction from the sidewalls of the folded fins, Wherein the plurality of spring fingers are configured to contact lateral surfaces of the plurality of second fins in a coupled state of the electronic device and the second electronic device, wherein the plurality of folded fins define a second set of grooves on a second side of the corrugated thermal interface device opposite the first side, the second set of grooves being configured to removably receive the plurality of second fins in a coupled state of the electronic device and the second electronic device, and the plurality of spring fingers extend into the second set of grooves.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the plurality of folded fins except the outermost folded fin includes a pair of sidewalls and a first end wall connecting the pair of sidewalls together; And Each of the plurality of folded fins is connected to an adjacent folded fin among the plurality of folded fins through a second end wall.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein: The plurality of folded fins are integrally connected together.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of spring fingers are integrally coupled to the sidewalls of the plurality of folded fins.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein: Each of the plurality of spring fingers includes an attachment end integrally coupled to one of the sidewalls and a free end laterally spaced from the sidewall to which the corresponding spring finger is coupled.

6. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein: Each of the plurality of spring fingers includes a first bend at the attachment end and a second bend near the free end, the first bend being laterally bent away from the sidewall to which the corresponding spring finger is coupled, and the second bend being laterally bent backward toward the sidewall to which the corresponding spring finger is coupled.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of folded fins and the plurality of spring fingers of the corrugated thermal interface device are parts of a single integral body.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The corrugated thermal interface device includes a high thermal conductivity metal.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of first fins include extruded fins.

10. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The second electronic device is a pluggable auxiliary device; The electronic device further includes a cooling plate thermally coupled to the plurality of first fins; and The chassis includes a socket configured to removably receive the second electronic device in a coupled state of the electronic device and the second electronic device, and the plurality of first fins extend into the socket.

11. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The electronic device is a pluggable auxiliary device and is configured to be removably received within a socket of the second electronic device in a coupled state of the electronic device and the second electronic device, and The electronic device further includes an electronic circuit thermally coupled to the plurality of first fins.

12. A system having a corrugated thermal interface device, comprising: A first electronic device, the first electronic device including a plurality of first fins; A second electronic device removably coupled to the first electronic device and including a plurality of second fins configured to interleave with the plurality of first fins in a coupled state of the first electronic device and the second electronic device; And A corrugated thermal interface device, the corrugated thermal interface device including: A plurality of folded fins attached to the plurality of first fins, each of the plurality of folded fins including one or more sidewalls, wherein the plurality of folded fins define a first set of grooves on a first side of the corrugated thermal interface device, and the plurality of first fins are located within the first set of grooves; and A plurality of spring fingers coupled to the sidewalls of the folded fins and extending at least partially in a lateral direction from the sidewalls of the folded fins; and Wherein, when the plurality of second fins interleave with the plurality of first fins, the plurality of second fins contact the plurality of spring fingers and displace the plurality of spring fingers, wherein the plurality of folded fins define a second set of grooves on a second side of the corrugated thermal interface device opposite the first side, the second set of grooves being configured to removably receive the plurality of second fins in a coupled state of the electronic device and the second electronic device, and the plurality of spring fingers extend into the second set of grooves.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein: The first electronic device is a pluggable auxiliary device and is configured to be removably received in a socket of the second electronic device in a coupled state of the first electronic device and the second electronic device, and The first electronic device further includes an electronic circuit thermally coupled to the plurality of first fins; and The second electronic device further includes a liquid cooling circuit including a cooling plate thermally coupled to the plurality of second fins.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein: The second electronic device is a pluggable auxiliary device and is configured to be removably received in a socket of the first electronic device in a coupled state of the first electronic device and the second electronic device, and The second electronic device further includes an electronic circuit thermally coupled to the plurality of second fins; and The first electronic device further includes a liquid cooling circuit including a cooling plate thermally coupled to the plurality of second fins.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein, In a coupled state of the first electronic device and the second electronic device, the corrugated thermal interface device forms a heat transfer path between the plurality of first fins and the plurality of second fins, the heat transfer path being capable of transferring heat at a rate of at least 0.005 watts per spring finger contact per degree Celsius of temperature difference between the plurality of first fins and the plurality of second fins.

16. A method for a system according to any one of claims 12 to 15, comprising: Insert the first electronic device into the socket of the second electronic device; And Thermally couple the first electronic device to the second electronic device via a corrugated thermal interface device disposed between the first electronic device and the second electronic device, wherein thermally coupling the first electronic device to the second electronic device while inserting the first electronic device into the socket comprises: Staggering a plurality of first fins of the first electronic device with a plurality of second fins of the second electronic device such that a plurality of folded fins of the corrugated thermal interface device engage with the plurality of first fins and the plurality of second fins; and Causing a plurality of spring fingers coupled to the folded fins of the corrugated thermal interface device to contact a lateral surface of one of the plurality of first fins or the plurality of second fins, wherein the plurality of folded fins define a first set of grooves on a first side of the corrugated thermal interface device, and the plurality of first fins are located within the first set of grooves, the plurality of folded fins define a second set of grooves on a second side of the corrugated thermal interface device opposite the first side, the second set of grooves being configured to removably receive the plurality of second fins in a coupled state of the first electronic device and the second electronic device, and the plurality of spring fingers extend into the second set of grooves.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: Attach the corrugated thermal interface device to the other of the plurality of first fins or the plurality of second fins before inserting the first electronic device into the socket.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein: Thermally couple the plurality of second fins to a liquid coolant of a liquid cooling circuit.

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