Integrated Water-Cooled Heat Sink with Electroplated Flow Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional water-cooled heat sinks, used for cooling semiconductor devices, face challenges in achieving high cooling performance while maintaining durability and size compatibility with downsized devices, and are prone to damage under pressure due to incomplete joining of laminated metal sheets.
Innovation Solution
A method involving electroplating a base material with a flow path-forming portion that dissolves in an aqueous solution, forming thick plating layers around the flow path, and using alkaline solutions to create inlet and outlet holes for dissolving the flow path-forming portion, resulting in an integrated heat sink with no mechanical joints, allowing for precise and robust fluid flow paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple plate materials are joined together to form flow paths, then cooling performance is improved, but structural strength deteriorates due to incomplete joining and leakage risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple plate materials into a single integral structure formed by electroplating a base material. The flow paths are created by dissolving sacrificial portions within the plated layer, eliminating the need for mechanical joining of separate plates. This integration resolves the contradiction by providing both the multi-chamber cooling functionality and the structural strength of a unified component.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a sacrificial flow path-forming portion as an intermediary during manufacturing. This temporary structure is embedded in the base material, coated with plating material, and then dissolved to create the final flow paths. This intermediary approach enables complex internal geometries without compromising the integrity of the outer structure.
2Reliability
If plate materials are laminated to create flow paths, then cooling efficiency is enhanced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to alignment and joining difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by forming the flow path-forming portion and applying the plating coating before creating the final flow paths. The sacrificial portions are positioned and secured within the base material, and the plating is applied while these portions are still in place, ensuring precise definition of flow path boundaries before dissolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical joining system (multiple laminated plates requiring alignment and fastening) with an electrochemical system where plating material is deposited directly onto the base material around sacrificial flow path-forming portions. This substitution eliminates mechanical joining errors and achieves superior precision.
3Stress or pressure
If thick plating layers are applied to surround flow path-forming portions, then pressure resistance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes parameter changes in the electroplating process to achieve the desired plating thickness and properties. By controlling plating parameters (current density, time, electrolyte composition), the process automatically produces uniform thick plating layers that provide pressure resistance, managing complexity through process control rather than mechanical means.
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
The method enables the creation of a high-strength, pressure-resistant heat sink with precise flow paths, enhancing cooling efficiency and durability by eliminating mechanical joints and ensuring effective heat conduction without leakage risks.
Implementation Method 1
electroplating a surface of a base material, which has formed therein a flow path-forming portion dissolving in an arbitrary aqueous solution, with a material not dissolvable in the aqueous solution, to form a thick plating layer
Implementation Method 2
flowing the aqueous solution through the inlet hole and/or the outlet hole to dissolve the flow path-forming portion with the aqueous solution, thereby forming the flow path for a fluid
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a water-cooled heat sink having an integrated structure, and having inside a precise, freely formed flow path, the water-cooled heat sink being produced without using a technique for pasting a plurality of metal sheets. In a water-cooled heat sink 1, a formed body 2 is provided outwardly, a flow path 3 for passage of a liquid is formed inwardly of the formed body 2, and an inlet 5 and an outlet 4 for the liquid, which communicate with the flow path 3, are formed in the main body of the heat sink 1. The entire formed body 2 of the heat sink 1 is integrally formed by thick coating layers applied by electroplating, and has no joints.