Sealed CPU and GPU Enclosures for Immersion Cooling Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Liquid immersion cooling for computing components poses challenges due to signal integrity issues and material compatibility concerns with dielectric fluids, leading to increased development costs and warranty limitations, particularly for expensive components like CPUs and GPUs.
Innovation Solution
Physical isolation methods, such as hermetically sealed volumes with heat sinks, and chemical reaction barriers like conformal coatings, are used to protect computing components from immersion fluids, addressing signal integrity and material compatibility issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If computing components are submerged in dielectric liquid for immersion cooling, then heat dissipation efficiency is improved, but signal integrity deteriorates due to dielectric constant differences between liquid and air
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the computing system into separate sealed enclosures (first enclosure for CPU, second enclosure for GPU) that are submerged in the dielectric liquid. Each enclosure creates an isolated environment where components remain protected from direct contact with the liquid, thus maintaining signal integrity while still enabling heat dissipation through the enclosure walls.
2Temperature
If computing components are directly exposed to immersion fluids, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but material compatibility issues arise causing component degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces sealed enclosures as intermediary structures between the computing components and the dielectric liquid. These enclosures act as barriers that prevent direct contact between the immersion fluid and sensitive components, eliminating material compatibility issues while still allowing thermal energy to transfer from components to the liquid through the enclosure walls.
3Reliability
If components are protected from immersion fluids using physical isolation, then material compatibility is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional sealed enclosures
Solution Approach 1:
The sealed enclosures serve multiple functions simultaneously: they provide mechanical protection for the components, create hermetic seals to prevent fluid ingress, enable thermal transfer to the dielectric liquid, and maintain signal integrity by preserving air gaps around connectors. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate protective 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
These solutions reduce the impact of immersion fluids on signal integrity, prevent material degradation, and extend the life of components, allowing for the use of components in liquid immersion cooling environments without warranties, thus expanding computing system offerings.
Implementation Method 1
Heat generated by the computing components is absorbed by the dielectric liquid and then dissipated into the environment by, for example, the dielectric liquid circulating through a heat exchanger.
Implementation Method 2
chemical reaction barriers like conformal coatings, are used to protect computing components from immersion fluids
Data Source
AI summary
Components in an integrated circuit component assembly located in a liquid immersion cooling environment are physically isolated from the immersion fluid. This physical isolation can be provided by seals between, for example, a heat sink attached to the integrated circuit components and an enclosure in which the integrated circuit components are located, a printed circuit board to which the integrated circuit components are attached and an integrated circuit component enclosure, a bolster plate and a heat sink, a ring that encompasses the integrated circuit components and a heat sink, and a ring and an integrated heat spreader that is part of an integrated circuit component. Alternatively, a conformal coating compatible with an immersion fluid can be applied to assembly components to act as a chemical reaction and physical barrier between the immersion fluid and integrated circuit component.