Integrated Chip Cooling Head With Micropump and Internal Flow Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling systems for high-performance semiconductor chips face heat and pressure losses due to long tubing and complex configurations, which reduce efficiency and complicate the selection of compatible cooling liquids.
Innovation Solution
A compact cooling device with integrated impingement and return channels, a micropump, and a heat exchanger within a single housing, eliminating external tubing and reservoirs, allowing for a self-contained cooling fluid cycle and reduced material incompatibility issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If external tubing and connectors are used to connect the pump, heat exchanger, and impingement head, then the system can be assembled from separate components, but heat and pressure losses increase and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pump, heat exchanger, and impingement head into a single integrated cooling device with internal fluid channels. This eliminates external tubing and connectors, thereby eliminating heat and pressure losses in external connections while maintaining manufacturability through modular internal component arrangement.
2Ease of manufacture
If external tubing and connectors are used, then component assembly is possible, but the system becomes more complex and material compatibility issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple components into a single integrated device with internal fluid distribution channels, eliminating the need for external tubing and connectors. This reduces system complexity by removing multiple connection points and material interfaces, while maintaining ease of manufacture through standardized housing and component integration.
3Ease of operation
If long tubing is used to connect cooling components, then system assembly is flexible, but pressure drop increases and pump performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the pump directly within the cooling device housing, with internal fluid channels providing direct pathways between components. This eliminates long external tubing runs, minimizing pressure drops and maintaining optimal pump performance, while the internal channel design provides sufficient assembly flexibility.
4Ease of manufacture
If multiple materials are used for tubing and connectors, then system assembly is possible, but the selection of compatible cooling liquids becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a housing made of a single material (aluminum, stainless steel, or polymer) that contacts all cooling liquid pathways throughout the device. This homogeneous material construction eliminates material compatibility issues at connection points, allowing versatile selection of cooling liquids without concern for chemical incompatibility between different materials.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution significantly reduces heat and pressure losses, simplifies the system, and increases the compatibility of cooling fluids, leading to more efficient and effective cooling of semiconductor chips.
Implementation Method 1
enabling a cooling fluid in the liquid state to impinge on said surface of the electronic component
Implementation Method 2
a heat exchanger comprising one or more heat exchange channels configured so that said cycle further includes the flow of the cooling fluid through the heat exchange channels
Implementation Method 3
one or more refrigerant channels configured to allow the passage of a refrigerant so as to enable a heat exchange between the refrigerant and the cooling fluid
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A cooling device (20) according to the invention is configured to be mounted in close proximity to an electronic component (2) that is to be cooled. The device comprises impingement channels (40) and return channels (41) for guiding a flow of cooling fluid towards and away from a cooled surface of the component. The device furthermore comprises a heat exchanger (22) and a pump (23), so that the flow cycle of a cooling fluid is fully confined within the device itself. The impingement channels (40), the return channels (41) and the heat exchanger (22) are integrated in a common housing (30), that comprises an inlet opening (24) and an outlet opening (25) for coupling the device to a refrigerant loop (10). The pump (23) may be a micropump mounted directly on the housing and coupled to inlet and outlet openings (35,36) in the housing (30). The invention is related to the device (20) as such and to a cooling system including a device according to the invention.