Next-Generation Micro-chip Carrier for Cooling of Satellite Payload Electronics

ABSTRACT: Miniature flat plate oscillating heat pipe (FP-OHP) heat spreaders using ThermAvant's patent-pending ThermalCircuit architecture and low CTE materials will be demonstrated in order to transfer 100-300W/cm2 from chip-sized heaters (1cm2 to 3cm2) to a heat sink area that rejects heat at<10W/cm2 with effective thermal conductivities>10,000W/mK. Prototypes will be modeled, designed, built and then tested using a combination of different FP-OHP channel architectures, materials, and fabrication techniques. Research will include thermal cycling and durability testing from -60 to +60C. Particular emphasis will be placed on using FP-OHP case materials with CTEs from 4-17 ppm/K that can be rapidly manufactured for low cost, short lead time military supply using additive manufacturing methods. BENEFIT: The developed heat spreader using low CTE materials (4-17 ppm/K) will be demonstrated to remove heat from 100-300W/cm2 devices at ultra low thermal resistances. A high volume, cost-effective manufacturing process for the spreader which is embedded with micro-scale oscillating heat pipe channels will be identified during Phase I. Because the spreader transfers heat through its internal channels rather than through its case material, the spreader can be made from a range of materials with CTEs that match the heat dissipating device. Near-term applications of the spreader include single-device and multi-device cooling of military devices with low CTEs such as power amplifiers, converters, ASICs, laser diodes, high power density power supplies, and IGBTs. For these near-term military applications and for longer-term commercial applications, single-step additive manufacturing techniques for embedding the channels within the spreader is critical for highly reliability and short-lead time supply. Longer term commercial applications include direct-contact-to-chip heat spreaders and heat sinks with ultra-low thermal resistance for cooling of computer CPU/GPUs, high-peak-power surgical lasers, and IGBTs in electric-vehicle power drives. Across a range of industries, the proposed technology will enable device designers to continue to increase device power and place them in ever smaller packages without being thermally constrained by excessive temperature build up that occurs with status quo heat spreading technologies.