High Heat Flux Cooling of Power Electronics

This Small Business Innovation Research project addresses the development of high heat flux thermal management technology for cooling solid-state power conversion devices on board Navy ships. It is anticipated that the drive towards smaller electroniccomponents and faster switching speeds will require a cooling technology that can dissipate in excess of 1,000 W/cm2 while maintaining junction temperatures below 125 ¿C. We propose to develop a liquid cooled heat sink that has the potential to achieve athermal resistance of 0.03 K/(W/cm2). This heat sink could provide cooling at 1,000 W/cm2 with only a 30 ¿C approach temperature difference, leaving substantial temperature margin for the internal resistance of the electronic device and the heat transferto the zonal heat exchanger. We have experimentally demonstrated, to date, a thermal resistance of 0.075 K/(W/cm2) using this heat sink technology. Design calculations indicate that it is feasible to further reduce the thermal resistance by a factor oftwo or more. In Phase I we will design, fabricate, and test a 1 cm2 heat sink to demonstrate the feasibility and performance potential of the proposed cooling technology. We will also develop, in collaboration with the Navy, a preliminary design of afull-scale prototype to be developed and demonstrated in Phase II. The proposed heat sink technology would have widespread application in the rapidly growing market of high power, solid-state energy conversion systems. In parallel with the Navy's drivetowards a more electric ship, the Air Force is also engaged in similar effort. Civilian applications include power conditioning for industrial equipment, electric drives in rail systems, and in hybrid drive automobiles, to name a few. Other applications,such as, solid-state power lasers and high-end microprocessors, would also benefit from improved high heat flux cooling technology.