Two-Phase Cooling Duct Layout for Dry-Out Resistant Thermal Conditioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional two-phase cooling systems in lithographic apparatuses are limited in their cooling efficiency due to the restricted gas-to-liquid ratio, which affects heat absorption capacity and can lead to drying-out issues, reducing the effectiveness of the cooling process.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a cooling duct with a pre-heating duct, a phase transitioning duct, and a discharging duct, where the two-phase cooling medium is guided through each section to optimize heat absorption by transitioning from liquid to gas phase, thereby enhancing the cooling efficiency across the physical object.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the two-phase cooling medium is used with a restricted gas-to-liquid ratio to avoid drying-out, then the cooling system maintains reliability, but the heat absorption capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling duct is divided into three distinct sections: a pre-heating duct where liquid cooling medium is heated, a phase-transition duct where the medium transitions from liquid to gas phase, and a discharging duct where the gas phase medium is discharged. This segmentation allows each section to optimize for its specific function, enabling the system to achieve high heat absorption capacity while maintaining reliability by controlling the phase transition process in the phase-transition duct.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes changes in physical parameters (temperature, pressure, phase state) of the cooling medium as it progresses through the different duct sections. The pre-heating duct increases temperature, the phase-transition duct facilitates phase change from liquid to gas, and the discharging duct manages the gas phase medium. These parameter changes enable the cooling medium to absorb maximum heat while maintaining system reliability.
2Quantity of substance
If the cooling medium transitions fully to gas phase to maximize heat absorption, then the heat absorption capacity increases, but the cooling system experiences drying-out issues reducing reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-heating duct performs preliminary heating of the liquid cooling medium before it enters the phase-transition duct. This preliminary action prepares the cooling medium for efficient phase transition in the subsequent duct section, maximizing heat absorption capacity while controlling the transition process to prevent drying-out issues and maintain system reliability.
3Reliability
If conventional two-phase cooling is used with moderate heat absorption in liquid and gas phases, then the system operates reliably, but the overall cooling efficiency is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The invention explicitly utilizes the phase transition from liquid to gas in the phase-transition duct to achieve high heat absorption capacity. By dedicating a specific duct section to this phase transition process, the system captures the high heat absorption that occurs during phase change, thereby significantly improving cooling efficiency while maintaining operational reliability through controlled transition.
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 increases the heat absorption capacity of the cooling medium, reduces flow-induced disturbances, and allows for smaller piping and reduced maintenance, providing more uniform cooling and higher reliability in thermally conditioning substrates within lithographic apparatuses.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling medium transitions from a first phase, such as a liquid phase, into a second phase, such as a gas phase. The cooling medium absorbs energy during the transition from liquid phase to gas phase, thereby possibly providing a cooling effect to a surrounding
Implementation Method 2
The cooling medium absorbs energy during the transition from liquid phase to gas phase, thereby possibly providing a cooling effect to a surrounding as heat may be drawn from the surrounding
Implementation Method 3
guiding the two phase cooling medium in a liquid phase via the pre heating duct from the supply side at least partly towards the discharging side of the physical object, the two phase cooling medium being pre-heated in the pre-heating duct
Data Source
AI summary
A method of thermally conditioning a physical object, includes guiding a two-phase cooling medium through a cooling duct of the physical object, wherein the guiding includes: guiding the two-phase cooling medium in a liquid phase via a pre-heating duct of the physical object from a supply side of the physical object at least partly towards a discharging side of the physical object, the two-phase cooling medium being pre-heated in the pre-heating duct; guiding the two-phase cooling medium from the pre-heating duct to a phase transitioning duct of the physical object, the two-phase cooling medium at least partly transitioning from the liquid phase towards a gas phase in the phase transitioning duct; guiding the two-phase cooling medium from the phase transitioning duct to a discharging duct of the physical object; and discharging at the discharging side the two-phase cooling medium from the discharging duct.