High-efficiency microcircuit thermal control system based on liquid metal cooling

By using liquid metal as the cold-carrying working fluid and vapor compression refrigeration system, combined with intelligent control system, the problems of large cooling capacity loss and low heat dissipation efficiency in traditional heat dissipation technology are solved, and efficient and stable chip thermal control is achieved, adapting to the heat dissipation needs of large data rooms.

WO2025148566A1PCT designated stage expired Publication Date: 2025-07-17GUANGDONG OCEAN UNIVERSITY
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Patent Information

Application Number
PCT/CN2024/136302
Authority / Receiving Office
WO · WO
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2024-01-12
Filing Date
2024-12-03
Publication Date
2025-07-17

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In the prior art, traditional air-cooling and liquid-cooling heat dissipation technologies have problems such as large cooling capacity loss, low heat dissipation efficiency, high power consumption, and insufficient heat transportation in high-performance data servers. Traditional micro-circuit cooling platforms have problems such as large contact angle between the cooling medium and the chip heat exchange material, poor wetting performance, and dead flow in the high performance of the cooling medium, and cannot fully exchange heat.

Method used

Liquid metal is used as the cold-carrying working fluid, combined with the vapor compression refrigeration system, a multi-system online platform is designed, and the high thermal conductivity and low viscosity characteristics of liquid metal are used to set up a ridge-shaped micro-ribbing structure arranged in the fork arrangement inside the chip cooling platform to achieve efficient heat exchange between liquid metal and the chip, and the working status of each system is accurately monitored and regulated through an intelligent control system.

Benefits of technology

It realizes efficient heat conduction to the chip, reduces energy loss, improves extreme heat dissipation capabilities, adapts to the heat dissipation needs of large data rooms, reduces system operation costs and management costs, enhances heat exchange performance, and meets efficient and stable thermal control requirements.

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Abstract

Disclosed is a high-efficiency microcircuit thermal control system based on liquid metal cooling, comprising a cooling-water system, a liquid metal supply system, and a cooling system. The liquid metal supply system is configured to supply a liquid metal to the cooling system to implement heat exchange with a chip by using the liquid metal. The cooling-water system is configured to cool the liquid metal. The cooling system comprises a cooling capacity distribution unit, a plurality of chassis, a temperature measurement component, and a control unit. The cooling capacity distribution unit is configured to distribute the liquid metal. A chip cooling platform is disposed in each chassis and is in communication with the cooling capacity distribution unit via a pipeline, and a chip is mounted on the chip cooling platform. The temperature measurement component is configured to measure the temperature of the chip. The cooling capacity distribution unit and the temperature measurement component are both electrically connected to the control unit. The present invention enables real-time, efficient, low-consumption, and stable thermal control of high-power, high heat flux density chips.
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Description

A high-efficiency thermal control system for microcircuits based on liquid metal cooling Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of chip heat dissipation, and in particular to a microcircuit high-efficiency thermal control system based on liquid metal cooling. Background Art

[0002] With the development of data center and supercomputer technology, the improvement of server performance has brought about an increase in heat flux density. Currently, the most widely used cooling solutions for high-performance data servers include air cooling and liquid cooling, but there are still some technical deficiencies.

[0003] 1. Traditional air-cooling technology mostly uses room temperature cooling for heat dissipation. This technology requires first cooling the indoor air, and then using low-temperature air as a medium to cool the chip. This process increases the heat exchange thermal resistance. Technically, it has disadvantages such as large cooling loss, low heat dissipation efficiency, and low energy-saving efficiency. It is gradually becoming unsuitable for the cooling needs of high-performance data servers.

[0004] 2. Traditional liquid cooling technology uses water as the coolant. This coolant reduces operating costs and maintenance difficulties to a certain extent, and improves heat dissipation efficiency compared to air cooling. However, the heat dissipation efficiency is still low, heat transport is not efficient enough, the ultimate heat dissipation capacity is poor, and power consumption is high. It still has shortcomings in energy saving and improving heat dissipation efficiency.

[0005] 3. Traditional microcircuit cooling platforms primarily rely on cooling media flowing through pipes, then exchanging heat with the chip via cold plates. However, both flat and round tubes suffer from issues such as large contact angles between the cooling medium and the chip, poor wetting properties, and dead zones. This, to a certain extent, impairs heat transfer performance, resulting in inadequate heat exchange. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a microcircuit high-efficiency thermal control system based on liquid metal cooling to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a microcircuit high-efficiency thermal control system based on liquid metal cooling, comprising a cooling water system, a liquid metal supply system and a cooling system;

[0008] The liquid metal supply system is used to supply liquid metal to the cooling system, utilizing the liquid metal to achieve heat exchange with the chip, and the cooling water system is used to cool the liquid metal;

[0009] The cooling system comprises:

[0010] a cold distribution unit, the cold distribution unit being used to distribute the liquid metal;

[0011] Several chassis, each having a chip cooling platform disposed therein, the cooling distribution unit being connected to the chip cooling platform via a pipeline, and a chip being mounted on the chip cooling platform;

[0012] A temperature measuring component, configured to measure the temperature of the chip;

[0013] The control unit, the cooling capacity distribution unit and the temperature measuring component are all electrically connected to the control unit.

[0014] Preferably, the liquid metal supply system includes:

[0015] a liquid metal storage box, wherein the liquid metal is contained in the liquid metal storage box, and the liquid metal storage box is connected to the chip cooling platform through a pipeline;

[0016] an electromagnetic pump, the electromagnetic pump being installed on a pipeline between the liquid metal storage box and the chip cooling platform;

[0017] Shell and tube heat exchanger, the cooling water system cools the liquid metal through the shell and tube heat exchanger.

[0018] Preferably, the cooling water system includes:

[0019] a condenser, the condenser being in communication with the shell and tube heat exchanger, and a throttle valve being installed at an outlet end of the condenser;

[0020] A cooling tower, wherein the cooling tower is used to cool the condenser;

[0021] The compressor is used to compress the refrigerant and drive the refrigerant to flow through the condenser, the throttle valve and the shell and tube heat exchanger in sequence.

[0022] Preferably, the cooling distribution unit comprises:

[0023] A total cooling capacity distribution unit, wherein the output end of the electromagnetic pump is connected to the total cooling capacity distribution unit, and the output end of the total cooling capacity distribution unit is connected to a cold flow pipe;

[0024] A secondary cooling capacity distribution unit, comprising branch pipes provided at the inlet and outlet of the chip cooling platform, wherein the branch pipe located at the inlet of the chip cooling platform is connected to the end of the cold flow pipe, and the branch pipe located at the outlet of the chip cooling platform is connected to a hot flow pipe, the end of which is connected to the shell and tube heat exchanger; flow regulating valves are installed on the branch pipes at the inlet and outlet of the chip cooling platform, and valves are installed on the cold flow pipe and the hot flow pipe;

[0025] The flow regulating valve and the total cooling capacity distribution unit are both electrically connected to the control unit.

[0026] Preferably, a flow meter is installed on the branch pipe at the outlet of the chip cooling platform.

[0027] Preferably, the chip cooling platform includes:

[0028] a housing, the chip being mounted on the housing, one end of the bottom surface of the housing being provided with an inlet communicating with the cooling distribution unit, and the other end of the bottom surface of the housing being provided with an outlet;

[0029] A micro-rib array is fixedly arranged inside the shell, and the inlet end of the outlet is higher than the micro-rib array.

[0030] Preferably, the liquid metal is a gallium-indium-tin alloy, and the ratio of the gallium-indium-tin alloy is Ga:In:Sn=75:10:15.

[0031] Preferably, the temperature measuring component is a thermocouple thermometer.

[0032] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and technical effects:

[0033] 1. The present invention adopts liquid metal as the cooling medium, and makes use of its own physical properties such as high thermal conductivity to effectively reduce the thermal resistance and thermal stress in the heat transfer process. It has the characteristics of good heat exchange effect, fast heat exchange and short time, realizes efficient heat conduction to the chip, reduces energy loss, and has an ultimate heat dissipation capacity better than water, which is suitable for the heat dissipation needs of large data rooms.

[0034] 2. The present invention uses liquid metal as a high-efficiency cooling medium and only requires a vapor compression refrigeration system to drive refrigeration, forming a vapor compression refrigeration coupled liquid metal cooling circulation system. While ensuring efficient thermal control of the chip, it integrates the traditional refrigeration cycle, reduces the use of liquid metal and the operating cost of the system, and reduces energy waste.

[0035] 3. Compared with the common pipes for traditional liquid heat dissipation, the present invention sets an appropriate number of cross-row-arranged prism-shaped micro-rib structures in the flow channel inside the shell of the chip cooling platform to destroy the thermal boundary layer of the fluid, so that the liquid metal in the flow channel remains in a turbulent state and the heat exchange performance is enhanced.

[0036] 4. The present invention designs a multi-system online platform based on the principle of a single system. Multiple systems are unified, taking into account efficient thermal control while making up for their shortcomings. With the help of temperature feedback, intelligent micro-control is implemented on a unified operating platform to accurately monitor and control the working status of each system, making operation management more convenient and reducing management costs.

[0037] 5. The present invention takes into account the characteristics of liquid metal with high thermal conductivity and strong cold transport capacity. The liquid metal is transported from the total cold distribution unit into multiple branches, and the multiple branches are connected in parallel to distribute the cold energy, and exchange heat evenly with the chip. At the same time, the chip heat dissipation time is shortened, solving the problem of heat dissipation cold energy distribution in actual production, and facilitating the actual production pipeline layout. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0039] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a single system of a microcircuit high-efficiency thermal control system according to the present invention;

[0040] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of a multi-connected system of a microcircuit high-efficiency thermal control system according to the present invention;

[0041] FIG3 is a top view of a multi-connected system of a microcircuit high-efficiency thermal control system according to the present invention;

[0042] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a chassis of the present invention;

[0043] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip cooling platform according to the present invention;

[0044] FIG6 is a control flow chart of the present invention;

[0045] In the figure: 1. Flow control valve; 2. Chassis; 3. Total cooling capacity distribution unit; 4. Valve; 5. Control unit; 6. Shell and tube heat exchanger; 7. Liquid metal storage box; 8. Throttle valve; 9. Compressor; 10. Condenser; 11. Chip cooling platform; 111. Housing; 112. Micro-fin array; 113. Inlet; 114. Outlet; 12. Chip; 13. Thermocouple thermometer; 14. Electromagnetic pump; 15. Cooling tower; 16. Cold flow pipe; 17. Hot flow pipe; 18. Flow meter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] It should be noted that, unless there is a conflict, the embodiments of the present invention and the features of the embodiments may be combined with each other. The embodiments described are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in conjunction with the embodiments.

[0047] The present invention provides a microcircuit high-efficiency thermal control system based on liquid metal cooling, comprising a cooling water system, a liquid metal supply system and a cooling system;

[0048] The liquid metal supply system is used to supply liquid metal to the cooling system, and utilize the liquid metal to achieve heat exchange with the chip 12, and the cooling water system is used to cool the liquid metal;

[0049] The cooling system includes:

[0050] A cold distribution unit, the cold distribution unit is used to distribute the liquid metal;

[0051] Several chassis 2, each of which is provided with a chip cooling platform 11, a cooling distribution unit is connected to the chip cooling platform 11 through a pipeline, and a chip 12 is installed on the chip cooling platform 11;

[0052] A temperature measuring component, which is used to measure the temperature of the chip 12;

[0053] The control unit 5 , the cooling capacity distribution unit and the temperature measurement component are all electrically connected to the control unit 5 .

[0054] The liquid metal in the liquid metal supply system of the present invention is transported to the cold distribution unit, and the liquid metal is distributed to the corresponding chip cooling platform 11 as needed according to the temperature of the chip 12, so as to realize heat exchange between the liquid metal and the chip 12, thereby taking away the heat of the chip 12. The hot liquid metal can be recycled after being cooled by the cooling water system.

[0055] The present invention utilizes the physical properties of high thermal conductivity and low viscosity of liquid metal to achieve efficient heat conduction to the chip 12, reducing energy loss. Due to its superior ultimate heat dissipation capacity, it can meet the heat dissipation requirements of large data centers.

[0056] Furthermore, the liquid metal supply system includes:

[0057] Liquid metal storage box 7, liquid metal is contained in the liquid metal storage box 7, and the liquid metal storage box 7 is connected to the chip cooling platform 11 through a pipeline;

[0058] An electromagnetic pump 14 is installed on the pipeline between the liquid metal storage box 7 and the chip cooling platform 11;

[0059] Shell and tube heat exchanger 6, the cooling water system cools the liquid metal through the shell and tube heat exchanger 6.

[0060] The liquid metal is stored in the liquid metal storage box 7, and the electromagnetic pump 14 pumps the liquid metal to the chip cooling platform 11 to achieve heat exchange with the chip 12. The hot liquid metal flows through the shell and tube heat exchanger 6, is cooled, and then flows back to the liquid metal storage box 7 to achieve circulation.

[0061] Furthermore, the cooling water system includes:

[0062] Condenser 10, condenser 10 is connected to the shell and tube heat exchanger 6, and a throttle valve 8 is installed at the outlet 114 end of the condenser 10;

[0063] Cooling tower 15, cooling tower 15 is used to cool the condenser 10;

[0064] The compressor 9 is used to compress the refrigerant and drive the refrigerant to flow through the condenser 10, the throttle valve 8 and the shell and tube heat exchanger 6 in sequence.

[0065] After being compressed by the compressor 9, the refrigerant is driven to flow through the condenser 10, the throttle valve 8, and the shell and tube heat exchanger 6 in sequence. The refrigerant dissipates heat through the condenser 10, the throttle valve 8 reduces the pressure and expands, and the shell and tube heat exchanger 6 absorbs heat and evaporates before returning to the compressor 9, completing the refrigeration cycle, thereby cooling the liquid metal flowing through the shell and tube heat exchanger 6.

[0066] Furthermore, the cooling distribution unit includes:

[0067] The total cooling capacity distribution unit 3, the output end of the electromagnetic pump 14 is connected to the total cooling capacity distribution unit 3, and the output end of the total cooling capacity distribution unit 3 is connected to the cold flow pipe 16;

[0068] The secondary cooling capacity distribution unit includes branch pipes provided at the inlet and outlet of the chip cooling platform 11. The branch pipe located at the inlet of the chip cooling platform 11 is connected to the end of the cold flow pipe 16. The branch pipe located at the outlet 114 of the chip cooling platform 11 is connected to the hot flow pipe 17. The end of the hot flow pipe 17 is connected to the shell and tube heat exchanger 6. The branch pipes at the inlet and outlet of the chip cooling platform 11 are both installed with flow control valves 1, and valves 4 are both installed on the cold flow pipe 16 and the hot flow pipe 17.

[0069] The flow regulating valve 1 and the total cooling capacity distribution unit 3 are both electrically connected to the control unit 5 .

[0070] The cooled liquid metal is output from the total cooling capacity distribution unit 3 and enters the cold flow pipe 16. According to the pre-designed pipeline connection scheme, the pipeline is laid from the ground in multiple branches, and the secondary cooling capacity distribution is realized in front of the chassis 2 through the branch pipe and the flow regulating valve 1 on the branch pipe. The PLC circuit of the control unit 5 is used to control the opening of the flow regulating valve 1 before and after the chip cooling platform 11, so that the liquid metal is diverted to each chip cooling platform 11, realizing heat exchange with the chip 12 that needs to be cooled, taking away the heat of the chip 12, and the hot liquid metal is uniformly collected through the heat flow pipe 17 and flows back to the liquid metal storage box 7 to start a new round of circulation.

[0071] Furthermore, a flow meter 18 is installed on the branch pipe located at the outlet 114 of the chip cooling platform 11 .

[0072] Furthermore, the chip cooling platform 11 includes:

[0073] The housing 111 is provided with the chip 12 mounted on the housing 111. An inlet 113 communicating with the cooling distribution unit is provided at one end of the bottom surface of the housing 111, and an outlet 114 is provided at the other end of the bottom surface of the housing 111.

[0074] The micro-fin array 112 is fixedly disposed inside the housing 111 , and the inlet end of the outlet 114 is higher than the micro-fin array 112 .

[0075] The micro-fin array 112 adopts a staggered arrangement, which increases the heat exchange area on the one hand, and enhances the disturbance of the fluid on the other hand, destroys the thermal boundary layer, reduces the flow dead zone, and reduces the scope of the local high-temperature area. The heat exchange efficiency is the highest when compared with various arrangement methods.

[0076] Furthermore, the liquid metal is a gallium-indium-tin alloy, and the ratio of the gallium-indium-tin alloy is Ga:In:Sn=75:10:15.

[0077] Furthermore, the temperature measuring component is a thermocouple thermometer 13. The thermocouple thermometer 13 is used to monitor and collect the temperature of the chip 12 in real time, and the control unit 5 controls the opening of the flow regulating valve 1 to make the liquid metal flow through the heat exchanger, thereby achieving the purpose of controlling the temperature of the chip 12.

[0078] The present invention provides a microcircuit high-efficiency thermal control system based on liquid metal cooling. When the temperature measured by the thermocouple thermometer 13 is ≥90°C, the system determines that the temperature of the chip 12 is too high at this time. The control unit 5 sets the opening of the two flow control valves 1 in front and behind the chip 12 to different angles, which can cool the chip 12. When the temperature of the chip 12 is less than 40°C, the control unit 5 first closes the flow control valve 1 at the front end. The liquid metal in the heat exchanger continues to flow forward due to the electromagnetic pump 14. When the liquid metal flows out, the rear electric control valve is closed to achieve the purpose of more reasonable and efficient use of liquid metal. When all the chips 12 in the system do not need to dissipate heat, the control unit 5 controls the electromagnetic pump 14 to turn off and reopen it the next time a chip 12 has a temperature higher than 90°C.

[0079] The present invention can realize multi-channel parallel cooling control. According to the thermocouple temperature meter 13, the switch of the flow regulating valve 1 is intelligently controlled, so that the liquid metal can continue to remain in the chip cooling platform 11 to cool the chip 12 when the temperature of the liquid metal is still at a relatively low temperature. After the cooling requirement is met, the valve 4 is opened to flow out. This design enables the system to reasonably adjust the heat dissipation scheme according to the intermittent working conditions of the chips 12 with different functions during operation, so as to achieve sufficient heat dissipation and reduce cold dissipation, thereby achieving the effects of efficient cooling, energy saving and emission reduction.

[0080] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. An efficient thermal control system for microcircuits based on liquid metal coolant, characterized in that, It includes a cooling water system, a liquid metal supply system, and a cooling system; The liquid metal supply system is used to supply liquid metal to the cooling system, and heat exchange is achieved between the liquid metal and the chip (12). The cooling water system is used to cool the liquid metal; The cooling system includes: A cold quantity distribution unit, which is used to distribute the liquid metal; A number of chassis (2), in which a chip cooling platform (11) is provided. The cold quantity distribution unit is connected to the chip cooling platform (11) through a pipeline, and a chip (12) is installed on the chip cooling platform (11); A temperature measurement component, which is used to measure the temperature of the chip (12); A control unit (5), and both the cold quantity distribution unit and the temperature measurement component are electrically connected to the control unit (5).

2. The high-efficiency thermal control system for microcircuits based on liquid metal heat carriers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The liquid metal supply system includes: A liquid metal storage box (7), in which the liquid metal is contained. The liquid metal storage box (7) is connected to the chip cooling platform (11) through a pipeline; An electromagnetic pump (14), which is installed on the pipeline between the liquid metal storage box (7) and the chip cooling platform (11); A shell-and-tube heat exchanger (6), through which the cooling water system cools the liquid metal.

3. The high-efficiency thermal control system for microcircuits based on liquid metal as heat carrier according to claim 2, wherein, The cooling water system includes: A condenser (10), which is connected to the shell-and-tube heat exchanger (6). A throttle valve (8) is installed at the outlet (114) end of the condenser (10); A cooling tower (15), which is used to cool the condenser (10); A compressor (9), which is used to compress the refrigerant and drive the refrigerant to flow through the condenser (10), the throttle valve (8), and the shell-and-tube heat exchanger (6) in sequence.

4. The highly efficient microcircuit thermal control system based on liquid metal heat transfer fluid according to claim 2, wherein, The cold quantity distribution unit includes: A total cold quantity distribution unit (3), the output end of the electromagnetic pump (14) is connected to the total cold quantity distribution unit (3), and a cold flow pipe (16) is connected to the output end of the total cold quantity distribution unit (3); A secondary cold quantity distribution unit, which includes branch pipes arranged at the inlet and outlet of the chip cooling platform (11). The branch pipe at the inlet of the chip cooling platform (11) is connected to the end of the cold flow pipe (16), and the branch pipe at the outlet (114) of the chip cooling platform (11) is connected to a hot flow pipe (17). The end of the hot flow pipe (17) is connected to the shell-and-tube heat exchanger (6); Flow regulating valves (1) are installed on the branch pipes at the inlet and outlet of the chip cooling platform (11), and valves (4) are installed on both the cold flow pipe (16) and the hot flow pipe (17); Both the flow regulating valve (1) and the total cold quantity distribution unit (3) are electrically connected to the control unit (5).

5. The high-efficiency thermal control system for microcircuits based on liquid metal coolant according to claim 4, wherein, A flowmeter (18) is installed on the branch pipe at the outlet (114) of the chip cooling platform (11).

6. The highly efficient thermal control system for microcircuits based on liquid metal as heat carrier according to claim 1, wherein The chip cooling platform (11) includes: A housing (111), on which the chip (12) is mounted. One end of the bottom surface of the housing (111) is provided with an inlet (113) communicating with the cooling capacity distribution unit, and the other end of the bottom surface of the housing (111) is provided with an outlet (114); A micro-rib array (112), which is fixedly arranged inside the housing (111), and the inlet end of the outlet (114) is higher than the micro-rib array (112).

7. The high-efficiency thermal control system for microcircuits based on liquid metal heat carriers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The liquid metal is a gallium-indium-tin alloy, and the ratio of the gallium-indium-tin alloy is Ga: In: Sn = 75:10:

15.

8. The high-efficiency thermal control system for microcircuits based on liquid metal heat carriers according to claim 1, characterized in that The temperature measurement component is a thermocouple thermometer (13).

Citation Information

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