DIAMOND HEAT PUPES FOR EFFICIENT COOLING OF HIGH POWER DENSITY DEVICES

THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT CVD DIAMOND FILMS CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO HEAT PIPER DESIGNS SUCH THAT THE RESULTING THERMAL IMPEDANCE IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THAT OF THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGY. TO ACHIEVE THIS, THE EXISTING HEAT PIPE TECHNOLOGY WILL BE REVIEWED AND ANALYZED. IN PARTICULAR, THE KEY SPECIFICATIONS, REQUIREMENTS AND/OR LIMITATIONS WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND A MATHEMATICAL MODEL WILL BE USED TO CHARACTERIZE THE THERMAL PROPERTIES OF HEAT PIPES. USING THIS INFORMATION, HYPOTHETICAL MODELS OF DIAMOND BASED HEAT PIPES WILL BE DEVELOPED AND ANALYZED. THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL USED FOR THERMAL ANALYSIS OF THE STANDARD TECHNOLOGY WILL ALSO BE USED TO DETERMINE THE IMPROVEMENTS TO BE EXPECTED FROM DIAMOND. TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF USING DIAMOND IN THIS APPLICATION, A SIMPLE PROTOTYPE OF DIAMOND BASED HEAT PIPE WILL BE FABRICATED. THE DIAMOND WILL BE CHARACTERIZED FOR ITS THERMAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES.