Design of ultrathin thermal meta-substrate for uniform cooling

Abstract

Thermal metamaterials have been demonstrated to be powerful on heat manipulation and promising for thermal management in recent years, but most thermal functionalities remain in theory, and thus practical applications of thermal metamaterials are extremely urgent and worth exploring. Here, by drawing inspiration from the uniform top temperature distribution of vapor chamber that enables efficient electronics cooling, we design a thermal meta-substrate for achieving uniform top temperature profile under the design framework of the illusion thermotics theory. Further, the key parameter for better uniform cooling is identified as the length of illusion heat source by parameter optimization. Such an all-solid substrate not only combines the advantages of metamaterials and the uniform top temperature distribution of vapor chamber, but also breaks the thickness limit of the conventional liquid-based vapor chamber toward ultrathin thickness. It is expected that the present substrate concept can be used for electronics cooling and trigger further exploration on the practical application of thermal metamaterials.