Electronic device cooling system and method of using the same

Abstract

A system for cooling a power electronic device includes a heat-extracting device having an electrically-conductive mounting surface, wherein the heat extracting device is configured to receive an externally-applied reference voltage. Also included is an electrically-insulating thermal interface material disposed on the electrically-conductive mounting surface, wherein the thermal interface material is configured to transmit heat from the power electronic device to the heat extracting device and electrically insulate the power electronic device from the electrically-conductive mounting surface. The reference voltage is set such that a voltage potential between the electrically-conductive mounting surface and leads of the power electronic device is less than a corona inception voltage for the system.

Description

ELECTRONIC DEVICE COOLING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF USING TH E SAMETECHN ICAL FI ELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to systems and methods for cooling electronic devices and, more particularly, to systems and methods for cooling power electronic devices.BACKGROUN D OF TH E INVENTION

[0002] Certain power electronic devices (e.g., power MOSFETs, IGBTs, etc., each generically referred to herein as a "power electronic device") are designed to operate at, generate or otherwise handle relatively high voltages (e.g., greater than lkV, or greater than 5kV or thereabout) in a compact space. Power electronic devices can be electrically connected to various types of electronic components and dissipate relatively large amounts of power thereto, which in turn can generate a significant amount of heat. One technique for extracting and dissipating the generated heat involves immersing the power electronic device in a dielectric fluid. However, it can be difficult and expensive to build and service a suitable fluid immersion system.

[0003] Another technique for extracting and dissipating the generated heat mounting the power electronic device on a heatsink (e.g., a material body formed of a thermally-conductive material, typically a metal), and an electrically-insulating thermal interface material is provided between the power electronic device and heatsink to electrically insulate interface surfaces of the two components. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A, a power electronic device 100 can be mounted to a heatsink 102, with a thermal interface material 104 interposed therebetween. Typically, the heatsink 102 is electrically grounded, and leads 106 of the power electronic device 100 are at a high operation potential (e.g., greater than lkV, or greater than 5 kV or thereabout, such as 7.5 kV). The potential difference between the heatsink 102 and the leads 106, AVI, is typically greater than a corona inception voltage for the system (e.g., as determined by Paschen's Law). As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the term "corona inception voltage" refers to the voltage at which a corona discharge begins between electrically-conductive structures.

[0004] In order to prevent corona discharge (induced by the large potential difference, AVI, between the surface of the heatsink 102 and the leads 106 of the power electronic device 100) between the leads 106 and the surface of the heatsink 102, the thermal interface material 104 is typically provided as a relatively thick insulation pad (e.g., a ceramic material, such as alumina, with a thickness, tl, 1,270 pm or thereabout). It should be noted that contact surfaces of the powerelectronic device 100, the heatsink 102 and insulation pad 104 are not perfectly smooth so airgaps (typically having a thickness 10 pm - 150 pm, or thereabout) are present between the power electronic device 100 and the insulation pad and between the insulation pad and the heatsink 102. Thus, to compensate for the increased risk of arcing attributable to the presence of the airgaps, the thickness tl of the insulation pad should be greater than 7,620 pm. When provided as the relatively thick insulation pad, the thermal interface material 104 will prevent arcing between the leads 106 and the surface of the heatsink 102, but will undesirably degrade the ability of the heatsink 102 to extract heat generated by the power electronic device 100.

[0005] Further, in order to prevent arcing between the surface of the heatsink 102 and other areas of the power electronic device 100, the footprint of the thermal interface material 104 on the heatsink 102 must be much larger than the footprint of the power electronic device 100. In addition, and to prevent arcing between the surface of the heatsink 102 and other areas of the power electronic device 100, the thermal interface material 104 must be present at all locations between the power electronic device 100 and the heatsink 102 and, so, a device such as clamp (not shown) must be used to hold the power electronic device 100 against the heatsink 102 (e.g., instead of screw, which would typically extend through some portion of the power electronic device 100, the thermal interface material 104 and into the heatsink 102). As a result, it can be difficult to incorporate the system to which the power electronic device 100 is mounted into electronic components where limited space is available.SUMMARY

[0006] One embodiment of the present invention can be generally characterized as a system for cooling a power electronic device, which includes a heat-extracting device having an electrically- conductive mounting surface, wherein the heat extracting device is configured to receive an externally-applied reference voltage. Also included is an electrically-insulating thermal interface material disposed on the electrically-conductive mounting surface, wherein the thermal interface material is configured to transmit heat from the power electronic device to the heat extracting device and electrically insulate the power electronic device from the electrically-conductive mounting surface. The reference voltage is set such that a voltage potential between the electrically-conductive mounting surface and leads of the power electronic device is less than a corona inception voltage for the system.

[0007] Another embodiment of the present invention can be generally characterized as a system that includes at least one heat-extracting device having an electrically-conductive mounting surface, wherein the heat extracting device is configured to receive an externally-applied reference voltage,and at least one power electronic device mounted onto the electrically-conductive mounting surface. An insulation pad can be disposed between each power electronic device of the at least one power electronic device, wherein the insulation pad formed of an electrically-insulating thermal interface material and is transmit heat from a respective power electronic device to the heat extracting device. The reference voltage can be set such that a voltage potential between the electrically-conductive mounting surface and leads of the at least one power electronic device is less than a corona inception voltage for the system.BRIEF DESCRI PTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a perspective, exploded view of a system for cooling an electronic device, according to the related art.

[0009] FIG. 1A schematically illustrates a side plan view of the system shown in FIG. 1, with the electronic device mounted thereon.

[0010] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a perspective, exploded view of a mounting system for cooling an electronic device, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] FIG. 2A schematically illustrates a side plan view of the mounting system shown in FIG. 2, with the electronic device mounted thereon.

[0012] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a perspective view of a mounting system for cooling an electronic device, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a cross-section view of an interior of the heat extracting device shown in FIG. 3, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of a mounting system, according to one embodiment of the present invention, with a plurality of electronic devices mounted thereon.

[0015] FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of the mounting system shown in FIG. 5 coupled to a circuit board configured to provide a reference voltage thereto, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] FIG. 7 illustrates a plan view of a plurality of mounting systems, each coupled to a respective circuit board as shown in FIG. 6, fl uidically connected to each other in series in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.DETAILED DESCRI PTION OF TH E I NVENTION

[0017] Example embodiments are described herein with reference to the accompanying FIGS. Unless otherwise expressly stated, in the drawings the sizes, positions, etc., of components, features, elements, etc., as well as any distances therebetween, are not necessarily to scale, but are exaggerated for clarity.

[0018] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be recognized that the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. Unless otherwise specified, a range of values, when recited, includes both the upper and lower limits of the range, as well as any sub-ranges therebetween. Unless indicated otherwise, terms such as "first," "second," etc., are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, one node could be termed a "first node" and similarly, another node could be termed a "second node", or vice versa. The section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described.

[0019] Unless indicated otherwise, the term "about," "thereabout," "substantially," etc., means that amounts, sizes, formulations, parameters, and other quantities and characteristics are not and need not be exact, but may be approximate and / or larger or smaller, as desired, reflecting tolerances, conversion factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like, and other factors known to those of skill in the art.

[0020] Spatially relative terms, such as "below," "beneath," "lower," "above," and "upper," and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element or feature, as illustrated in the FIGS. It should be recognized that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations in addition to the orientation depicted in the FIGS. For example, if an object in the FIGS, is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term "below" can encompass both an orientation of above and below. An object may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

[0021] Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Thus, the same or similar numbers may be described with reference to other drawings even if they are neither mentioned nor described in the corresponding drawing. Also, even elements that are not denoted by reference numbers may be described with reference to other drawings.

[0022] It will be appreciated that many different forms and embodiments are possible without deviating from the spirit and teachings of this disclosure and so this disclosure should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these examples and embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 2A, a technique for extracting and dissipating heat generated by a power electronic device (e.g., aforementioned power electronic device 100) according to one embodiment can involve mounting the power electronic device 100 to a mounting system 200 (also referred to herein as a "system" that includes heat extracting device 202 and an electrically-insulating thermal interface material 204. In this case, the power electronic device 100 is mounted onto an electrically-conductive mounting surface of the heat extracting device 202, and the electrically- insulating thermal interface material 204 is provided between the power electronic device 100 and heat extracting device 202 to electrically insulate interface surfaces of the two components.

[0024] In the illustrated embodiment, the heat extracting device 202 is provided as a heatsink (and, thus, is also referred to herein as a "heatsink 202") provided as any suitable or known body formed of a thermally-conductive material, such as metal (e.g., copper, aluminum), etc. Although not shown, the heatsink 202 may include one or more heat dissipative structures such as fins, pins, etc. Likewise, in the illustrated embodiment, the thermal interface material 204 is provided as an insulation pad (and, thus, is also referred to herein as a "insulation pad 204") provided as any suitable or known body formed of an electrically-insulative material, such as a fiber-reinforced insulating pad (e.g., a resin or silicone insulating pad reinforced with fiberglass, filled polyimide, etc.), etc.

[0025] According to embodiments of the present invention, the heatsink 202 is maintained at a reference voltage, Vref, that is chosen or otherwise set such that the potential difference between the heatsink 202 and the leads 106, AV2, is less than the corona inception voltage for the system (e.g., as determined by Paschen's Law). For example, if the leads 106 of the power electronic device 100 are at a relatively high operation potential (greater than 5 kV, or thereabout, such as 7.5 kV), then the reference voltage at which the heatsink 202 is maintained can be 700 V (or thereabout) above or below the operation potential.

[0026] When the potential difference between the heatsink 202 and the leads 106, AV2, is less than the corona inception voltage for the system, the thickness of the insulation pad 204 can be reduced compared to the thermal interface material 104 discussed above with respect to FIG. 1, and the insulation pad 204 can be formed from a wider variety of materials as compared to the thermal interface material 104 and also be thinner than the thermal interface material 104 (i.e., t2 < tl). For example, the thermal interface material 204 can be formed as the aforementioned fiber-reinforced insulating pad and having a thickness, t2, between 200 pm and 300 pm (e.g., 254 pm, or thereabout). In general, however, the insulation pad 204 can be formed of any suitable material, and be thinner than, the thermal interface material 104. As a result, the amount of heat that may be extracted into the heatsink 202 can be increased relative to the amount of heat that extracted into the heatsink 102.

[0027] Further, because the potential difference, AV2, between the heatsink 202 and the leads 106 is below the corona inception voltage for the system, the footprint of the insulation pad 204 on the heatsink 202 can be approximately the same as the footprint of the power electronic device 100. Additionally, because the potential difference AV2 is below the corona inception voltage for the system, the power electronic device 100 can be held against the heatsink 202 by means of a fastener (e.g., a screw, a pin, etc., not shown) extending through a portion of the power electronic device 100 (e.g., through a bore formed in the power electronic device 100, not shown), through an opening 206 formed in the thermal interface material 204 and into a hole 208 (threaded, or otherwise configured to receive the fastener) formed in the heatsink 202), as is known in the art. As a result, the system to which the power electronic device 100 is mounted can be incorporated into electronic components where limited space is available.

[0028] Although FIGS. 2 and 2A illustrate an embodiment in which a single power electronic device 100 is mounted onto the heatsink 202, it will be appreciated that multiple power electronic devices 100 may be mounted onto a common heatsink 202 in the manner described above. In this case, the mounting system 200 may include a single insulation pad 204 contiguously interposed between the plurality of power electronic devices 100 and the heatsink 202. Alternatively, each power electronic device 100 may have its own insulation pad 204 interposed between it and the heatsink 202.

[0029] As mentioned above, the heat extracting device 202 of the mounting system 200 shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A can be provided as a heatsink. According to another embodiment, however, a mounting system can include a heat extracting device provided as a cold plate. For example, and with reference to FIG. 3, a mounting system 300 can include a cold plate 302 instead of the aforementionedheatsink 202. In this case, the power electronic device 100 is mounted onto an electrically-conductive mounting surface of the cold plate 302, and the insulation pad 204 is provided between the power electronic device 100 and cold plate 302 to electrically insulate interface surfaces of the two components. As similarly discussed above with respect to the heatsink 202, the cold plate 302 may be maintained at a reference voltage, Vref, that is chosen or otherwise set such that the potential difference between the cold plate 302 and the leads 106, AV2, is less than the corona inception voltage for the system (e.g., as determined by Paschen's Law).

[0030] The cold plate 302 is similar to the heatsink 202, but includes at least one channel formed within the body thereof through which a heat transfer fluid (e.g., water, deionized water, glycol / water solution, or other dielectric fluid such as a fluorocarbon or oil) can flow. FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a channel (identified here at 400) in the body of the cold plate 302. Accordingly, and with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the mounting system 300 may include fluid transfer tubes 304 coupled to the cold plate 302 in fluid communication with the channel 400. As exemplarily shown in FIG. 4, the fluid transfer tubes 304 may be inserted into ports 402 extending from the channel 400 to the exterior of the body of the cold plate 302. Generally, each fluid transfer tube 304 is formed of an electrically-insulative material, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, polytetrafluorethylene, polyetherimide, or any other suitable thermoplastic or the like or any combination thereof. Sealing members 404 (e.g., O-rings) may be provided as shown to prevent heat transfer fluid transferred into or out of the channel 400 from leaking out of the cold plate 302.

[0031] A heat exchange system (not shown) may be provided to circulate or pump heat transfer fluid through the fluid transfer tubes 304 and channel 400 of cold plate 302 of mounting system 300 and extract absorbed heat from the heat transfer fluid in any manner suitable or otherwise known in the art. Accordingly, the heat exchange system may include components such as a pump (e.g., to circulate the heat transfer fluid through the fluid transfer tubes 304 and cold plate 302 of mounting system 300) to extract heat accumulated within the cold plate 302 and a heat exchanger (e.g., to extract heat from the circulating fluid). In one embodiment, the heat exchange system may be provided as a single-loop heat exchange system whereby the heat transfer fluid circulates within a closed-loop system and heat is extracted from the circulating fluid at a heat exchanger into the ambient environment. In another embodiment, the heat exchange system may be provided as a dualloop heat exchange system whereby the heat transfer fluid circulates within a closed-loop system and heat within the circulating fluid is extracted at a heat exchanger into another heat transfer fluid (e.g., circulating water). Thus, the fluid transfer tubes 304 may be connected to an inlet and an outlet of a heat exchange system, in any known or suitable manner.

[0032] As mentioned above, the electrically-conductive mounting surfaces of the heat extracting devices shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (i.e., the heatsink 202 or cold plate 302) can be maintained at the reference voltage, Vref. It will be appreciated that the reference voltage can be supplied to the heat extracting device via of one or more reference voltage lines (e.g., wires, cables, etc.) connected to the output of a power supply module in any suitable manner. An exemplary manner in which the reference voltage can be supplied to a heat extracting device according to some embodiments of the present invention will now be described with respect to FIGS. 5 and 6. While FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the heat extracting device as an embodiment of a cold plate 302, it will be appreciated that the heat extracting device illustrated therein can be provided as a heatsink.

[0033] Referring to FIG. 5, a mounting system 500 includes a heat extracting device provided as the aforementioned cold plate 302, and which includes the aforementioned channel 400 (not shown), an electrically-conductive mounting surface 502, a plurality of optional heat dissipative features (e.g., fins) 504, and a plurality of board mounting holes 506 (e.g., formed in the mounting surface 502).

[0034] As also shown in FIG. 5, the cold plate 302 may also include the aforementioned holes 208 formed in the mounting surface 502). Thus, each power electronic device 100 can be mounted onto the mounting surface 502 with an insulation pad 204 interposed between the cold plate 302 and the power electronic device 100, and a fastener (not shown) extending through the power electronic device 100, the insulation pad 204 and into a hole 208 can be used to attach or fix the power electronic device 100 to the cold plate 302.

[0035] Also shown in FIG. 5 is a port 402 extending to a channel (not shown) within the body of the cold plate 302, and through which a heat transfer fluid can flow (e.g., by inserting a fluid transfer tube 304 thereinto, which conveys the heat transfer fluid, as described above). Thus, each power electronic device 100 can be mounted onto the mounting surface 502 with an insulation pad 204 interposed between the cold plate 302 and the power electronic device 100, and a fastener (not shown) extending through the power electronic device 100, the insulation pad 204 and into a hole 208 can be used to attach or fix the power electronic device 100 to the cold plate 302.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 6, a circuit board 600 may be held over the power electronic devices 100 mounted onto the mounting surface 502 by a plurality of stand-offs 602. A first end of each of the stand-offs 602 may be attached or fixed to the circuit board 600 by any suitable or known technique, and a second end of each of the stand-offs 602 may be attached or fixed to the cold plate 302 (e.g., via any suitable fastener such as a screw, pin, etc., inserted into a respective board mounting hole 506).

[0037] As also shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of devices 604 are attached to the circuit board 600. These devices may be of any type and may include, for example, a power supply module. The power supply module may be configured to generate and output a reference voltage to be applied to the mounting surface 502 of the cold plate 302. In this case, an output of the power supply module can be electrically connected to one or more electrically-conductive traces or lines of the circuit board 600, which route the reference voltage to the stand-offs 602. The reference voltage is relayed from the circuit board 600 to the mounting surface 502 of the cold plate 302 via one or more of the standoffs 602. To relay the reference voltage, a stand-off 602 may be formed of any suitable electrically- conductive material and, as such, is electrically connected to the mounting surface 502 by virtue of its direct physical contact with the mounting surface 502. In another embodiment, a stand-off 602 may be provided as a tubular or hollow structure through which an electrically-conductive wire extends from the circuit board 600 to a portion of the body of the cold plate 302 that is electrically connected to the mounting surface 502.

[0038] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the leads 106 of the power electronic devices 100 are bent upwardly so as to extend away from the cold plate 302. The circuit board 600 may have openings formed therethrough, and the leads 106 may extend through these openings (e.g., to allow the power electronic devices 100 to provide power or other signals to one or more devices 604 on the circuit board 600 or provided elsewhere.

[0039] The foregoing is illustrative of embodiments and examples of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although a few specific embodiments and examples have been described with reference to the drawings, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications to the disclosed embodiments and examples, as well as other embodiments, are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the invention.

[0040] For example, although discussion of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3-6 has been limited to a single mounting system 300, e.g., connected to a heat exchange system via fluid transfer tubes 304, it will be appreciated that multiple mounting systems 300 may be fluidically coupled to each other via one or more sets of fluid transfer tubes 304. In this case, and with reference to FIG. 7, channels 400 of multiple mounting systems 500 (each mounted onto a respective circuit board 600, as described above with respect to FIGS. 5 and 6) may be fluidically coupled to one another by a fluid transfer tube 304. Thus, in FIG. 7, the arrows shown over each fluid transfer tube 304 indicate the direction of a flow of heat transfer fluid into or out of a mounting system 500. As also shown in FIG. 7, the fluid transfer tubes may be provided as straight tubes, as multi-junction connectors, or the like or any combination thereof, in order to fluidically connect any arrangement of mounting systems500. In FIG. 7 , the mounting system 500 shown at the lower-left corner of the illustrated arrangement of mounting systems 500 may receive heat transfer fluid output from a heat exchange system, and heat transfer fluid output from the mounting system 500 shown at the upper-right corner of the illustrated arrangement of mounting systems 500 may be conveyed to the heat exchange system in any known or suitable manner.

[0041] In another example, although discussion of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5-7 has been limited to situations in which a single mounting system 500 is mounted onto a single circuit board 600, it will be appreciated that one mounting system 500 may be mounted to multiple circuit boards, that multiple mounting systems 500 may be mounted to a common circuit board, or the like or any combination thereof.

[0042] Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. For example, skilled persons will appreciate that the subject matter of any sentence, paragraph, example or embodiment can be combined with subject matter of some or all of the other sentences, paragraphs, examples or embodiments, except where such combinations are mutually exclusive. The scope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.

Claims

Claims1. A system for cooling a power electronic device, comprising: a heat-extracting device having an electrically-conductive mounting surface, wherein the heat extracting device is configured to receive an externally-applied reference voltage; and an electrically-insulating thermal interface material disposed on the electrically-conductive mounting surface, wherein the thermal interface material is configured to transmit heat from the power electronic device to the heat extracting device and electrically insulate the power electronic device from the electrically-conductive mounting surface, wherein the reference voltage is set such that a voltage potential between the electrically- conductive mounting surface and leads of the power electronic device is less than a corona inception voltage for the system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the heat-extracting device includes a body formed of a thermally-conductive material.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the heat-extracting device includes one or more heat dissipative structures.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the heat-extracting device includes: a channel formed within an interior of the body; and a plurality of ports extending from an exterior of the body to the channel.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a fluid transfer tube insertable into each of the plurality of ports, wherein the fluid transfer tube is configured to convey a heat transfer fluid into the channel or out of the channel.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a heat exchange system coupled to each fluid transfer tube, wherein the heat exchange system is operative to circulate the heat transfer fluid through the channel.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a power supply module, wherein the electrically- conductive surface of the heat-extracting device is electrically coupled to an output of the power supply module.

8. The system of claim 7 , further comprising a circuit board mechanically coupled to the heatextracting device, wherein the power supply module is mounted to the circuit board.

9. A system, comprising: at least one heat-extracting device having an electrically-conductive mounting surface, wherein the heat extracting device is configured to receive an externally-applied reference voltage; at least one power electronic device mounted onto the electrically-conductive mounting surface; and an insulation pad disposed between each power electronic device of the at least one power electronic device, wherein the insulation pad formed of an electrically-insulating thermal interface material and is transmit heat from a respective power electronic device to the heat extracting device, wherein the reference voltage is set such that a voltage potential between the electrically- conductive mounting surface and leads of the at least one power electronic device is less than a corona inception voltage for the system.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of power electronic devices mounted onto the electrically-conductive mounting surface of a common heat-extracting device of the at least one heat-extracting device.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of power electronic devices are electrically isolated from one another.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein each heat-extracting device of the at least one heat-extracting device includes: a channel formed within an interior of a body thereof; and a plurality of ports extending from an exterior of the body to the channel.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a fluid transfer tube insertable into each of the plurality of ports, wherein the fluid transfer tube is configured to convey a heat transfer fluid into the channel or out of the channel.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one heat-extracting device includes a plurality of plurality of heat-extracting devices.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein channels of the plurality of heat-extracting devices are fluidically coupled to one another.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of heat-extracting devices are electrically isolated from one another.

17. The system of claim 9, further comprising: a circuit board mechanically coupled to the at least one heat-extracting device; and a plurality of electronic devices mounted onto the circuit board, wherein at least one of the plurality of electronic devices is electrically coupled to the at least one power electronic device.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising a power supply module, wherein the electrically- conductive surface of the at least one heat-extracting device is electrically coupled to an output of the power supply module.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the power supply module is mounted to the circuit board.

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