Secondary Side Cold Plates for PCB Thermal Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-performance electronic systems face thermal management challenges due to increased thermal design power, with traditional air cooling systems being less effective compared to liquid cooling, particularly in compact packaging environments like printed circuit boards (PCBs) where space constraints limit the size of cooling systems.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of secondary side cold plates integrated with stiffeners on PCBs, which include fin structures and internal walls to increase the surface area exposed to coolant flow, allowing for additional cooling without enlarging primary side cooling systems, and utilizing a dual-sided cold plate assembly with sequential or parallel coolant flow configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If liquid cooling is used instead of air cooling, then cooling efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cold plate is merged with the stiffener structure, combining thermal management and mechanical support functions into a single integrated component. This eliminates the need for separate cooling systems and reduces overall device complexity while maintaining high cooling efficiency through liquid coolant flow through channels in the cold plate.
Solution Approach 2:
The cold plate/stiffener assembly serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support to the PCB, dissipates heat from hot spots on the board, and acts as a mounting surface for electronic components. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate cooling components, thereby reducing device complexity while achieving effective liquid cooling.
2Temperature
If secondary side cold plates are added, then total cooling capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into primary side and secondary side cold plates, allowing heat to be dissipated from both faces of the PCB. This segmentation enables targeted cooling of different thermal zones without requiring a single large complex cooling system, as each cold plate can be independently optimized and configured.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling approach transitions from single-sided to dual-sided by utilizing the secondary side of the PCB. This dimensional change allows heat dissipation to occur in two directions simultaneously, effectively doubling the cooling capability without requiring a proportional increase in the complexity of individual cooling components.
3Area of stationary object
If fin structures and internal walls are added, then heat dissipation surface area is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fin structures and internal walls are merged into the cold plate/stiffener as integral features rather than separate components. This integration allows the complex geometries to be manufactured as single pieces using processes like CNC machining or additive manufacturing, reducing assembly complexity while achieving high heat dissipation surface area through the fin arrays and internal wall structures.
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 approach enhances the total cooling capability of PCBs, enabling more powerful processing performance by efficiently dissipating heat from both the primary and secondary sides, even in space-constrained environments, thereby improving thermal management in high-performance systems.
Implementation Method 1
liquid has inherent advantages of higher specific heat (when no boiling is involved) and higher latent heat of vaporization (when boiling is involved)
Implementation Method 2
cold plates for secondary side components of printed circuit boards
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Cold plates for secondary side components of printed circuit boards are disclosed herein. An example apparatus disclosed herein includes a first printed circuit board, a second printed circuit board coupled to the first printed circuit board, the second printed circuit board having a first side and a second side opposite the first side, the second side facing the first printed circuit board, and a cold plate coupled to the second side of the second printed circuit board.