Silicon microchannel frames for high-energy physics experiments

W Poonsawat,N Laojamnongwong,W Jeamsaksiri,A Mapelli,A Francescon,D Alvarez Feito,N Ritjoho,J Supadech,N Klunngien,C Kobdaj

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/16/08/p08050

Abstract

The design of detectors used for experiments in high-energy physics requires a light, stiff, and efficient cooling system with a low material budget. The use of silicon microchannel cooling plates has gained considerable interest in the last decade. In this study, we propose the development of silicon microchannel cooling frames studied within the framework of the major upgrade of the Inner Tracking System (ITS) of the ALICE experiment at CERN. The preliminary results obtained with these frames demonstrate that they can withstand the internal pressure arising from the flow of the coolant with a limited mass penalty.

Highlights

We propose the development of silicon microchannel cooling frames studied within the framework of the major upgrade of the Inner Tracking System (ITS) of the ALICE experiment at CERN
Microfluidic cooling devices investigated at CERN to remove the heat dissipated by the frontend electronics of silicon tracking detectors are fabricated with various process flows, thereby allowing each type of device to optimize their pressure limits
Thai Microelectronics Center (TMEC) demonstrated that the microfabrication process could allow the production of microchannel cooling devices with different channel widths

Summary

Microfabrication technologies

Microfabrication technologies comprise a wide variety of techniques used for manufacturing microdevices. For the realization of silicon microfluidic cooling plates, microchannels are usually etched into silicon wafers and sealed by bonding with another wafer, typically of silicon or glass. Direct bonding between two silicon wafers, e.g. a silicon fusion bonding technique, is very demanding in terms of surface quality but results in a very strong chemical bond. Microfluidic cooling devices investigated at CERN to remove the heat dissipated by the frontend electronics of silicon tracking detectors are fabricated with various process flows, thereby allowing each type of device to optimize their pressure limits. Steps: etching of microchannels in silicon wafers, bonding of unstructured silicon wafers to close the microchannels, and thinning of the assembled cooling plates in the acceptance of the detectors

Preparation

Pressure test procedures and results

Design of the multi-microchannel

Conclusions