Advanced Electronic Cooling Technologies

Aqwest proposes to develop an advanced thermal management for cooling of electronic components using a variable conductance heat sink (VCHS) offering unparalleled capabilities in high-heat flux handling and temperature control. The project will produce a cooling system with the following benefits to wide band gap amplifiers and high-power laser diodes (HPLD): 1) Heat flux handling > 1200 W/cm2 2) Easily scalable by stacking to >10 kW 3) Heat spreading with equivalent thermal conductivity  > 3000 W/m-K 4) Temperature control to < b1¢XC 5) Response time < 1 second 6) Compatible with DOD air and space environments The VCHS removes waste heat from semiconductor material and transfers it to system primary coolant.  It employs a miniature closed flow loop receiving waste heat from semiconductor chips at a high heat flux, transporting it by forced convection, and transferring it to an air-cooled heat sink or liquid-cooled heat exchanger at a much lower heat flux.  The flow is maintained electromagnetically without any moving parts.  Junction temperature is controlled by the flow velocity.  VCHS solves three (3) problems in one device: 1) effective removal/spreading of waste heat from semiconductor junctions 2) transfer of waste heat to a primary sink, and 3) temperature control.    BENEFIT: Enables operation of high-power electronic devices at increased power densities such as wide band gap semiconductors.  Provides effective cooling for new generations of high-power laser diodes. Applicable to military as well as commercial power electronics.  Commercial applications include cooling of electronics in electric hybrid vehicles.