A novel
plate fin heat exchanger adapted for high and low velocity fluid flows for dissipating heat from a heat generating component. The
heat exchanger comprises an array of fins being affixed to and in thermal communication with a thermally conductive base, wherein the fins are arranged in a fan
tail configuration for minimizing flow bypass, and further providing reduced
thermal resistance for fluid passing through the fin field. The fins are affixed to and in thermal communication with the base at an
acute angle, such that the effective width of the array of fins exceeds the width of the base. The enlarged effective width of the fin array in comparison to conventional
heat exchanger provides an increased volume for fluid flow, thereby allowing a greater volume of fluid to enter the fin field and a greater surface area of plate fins for cooling the fluid passing through the
heat exchanger. In addition, the heat exchanger comprises a fin density of at least ten fins per inch or greater of base length thereby providing a
narrow channel heat exchanger with a fan
tail. The
aspect ratio of the individual channels between the fins, as compared to parallel fins affixed perpendicular to the base through an
extrusion method, generates a reduced pressure drop across the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger of the present invention expands the envelope of cooling performance provided by fluid flow over an array of thermally conductive plates.