The challenge of thermal management

Abstract

While academic research has made great advances over the last few decades in specific thermal management technologies, the transfer of ideas from the lab to products in industry has been less successful because of impedance at a variety of interfaces, real and virtual. To some extent, going from specific component-level advances to system-level implementation is challenged by the lack of more intimate knowledge among researchers of the product buildup, and where relevant, the supply chain as well. On the one hand, concerns related to intellectual property and confidentiality have hampered information-sharing and prevented clear, quantitative and comprehensive problem definition. But on the other, academics have often not invested the time and effort to imbed themselves into industry groups and learn about the packaging and manufacturing challenges, and marketing and competitive pressures. Much real engineering - and even science - must go into addressing these challenges, but the problems involved are not clean or well-defined and are certainly not demarcated by discipline. They must instead be teased out with patience. Arguably, this interface impedance between academic research and industrial practice has been less pronounced on the electrical engineering side of the house. Perhaps it is finally time for thermal management to not be treated as the perpetual afterthought by this industry - this will need inspired leadership in our leading companies, and also strategic stewardship by the thermal community.