Micro-scale liquid cooling system for high heat flux processor cooling applications

Abstract

The requirements for thermal management in high performance computers are rapidly outpacing the capabilities of the best commercial heat sinks, including those with integrated heat pipes. The problem lies in three compounding trends: a) higher total chip power, b) higher local heat flux in chip hotspots, and c) smaller system enclosures. Pumped liquid cooling is a promising alternative, but this approach requires innovation and careful design to cool a high heat flux chip within a targeted system volume. To address this problem, Cooligy has developed a new pumped liquid, microscale cooling system for use in high heat flux applications. The cooling system features a microstructure heat exchanger for high heat flux removal capability, a reliable mechanical pump for delivering fluid with the required flow rate and pressure, and an efficient liquid-air radiator heat exchanger. The microstructure heat exchanger is optimally designed to handle high heat flux on a high-performance microprocessor and the mechanical pump is compact, and demonstrates high reliability. In this paper, an example of high heat flux processor cooling using the new micro-scale liquid cooling system developed at Cooligy is described, for a workstation processor cooling application. The liquid cooling system is in high volume production