Microelectromechanical system-based evaporative thermal management of high heat flux electronics

This paper describes the development of embedded droplet impingement for integrated cooling of electronics (EDIFICE), which seeks to develop an integrated droplet impingement cooling device for removing chip heat fluxes over 100 W/cm(2), employing latent heat of vaporization of dielectric fluids. Micromanufacturing and microelectromechanical systems are used as enabling technologies for developing innovative cooling schemes. Microspray nozzles are fabricated to produce 50-100 mu m droplets coupled with surface texturing on the backside of the chip to promote droplet spreading and effective evaporation. This paper examines jet impingement cooling of EDIFICE with a dielectric coolant and the influence of fluid properties, microspray characteristics, and surface evaporation. The development of micronozzles and microstructured surface texturing is discussed. Results of a prototype testing of HFE-7200 on a notebook PC are presented. This paper also outlines the challenges practical implementation and future research needs.