High performance two-phase cooling apparatus
First Claim
1. A thermal ground plane, comprising:
- a metal substrate comprising a plurality of microstructures formed in the metal substrate, forming a wicking structure having the plurality of microstructures;
a vapor cavity, in communication with the wicking structure and the plurality of microstructures;
at least one intermediate substrate with a plurality of protrusions, wherein the plurality of protrusions are directly coupled to each other by at least one cross-member disposed internal to the vapor cavity on the opposite side of the at least one intermediate substrate relative to the metal substrate, and wherein the plurality of protrusions is shaped to increase the effective aspect ratio of the wicking structure by fitting into the plurality of microstructures of the wicking structure in at least one region of the wicking structure; and
a fluid contained within the thermal ground plane for transporting thermal energy from at least one region of the thermal ground plane to another region of the thermal ground plane, wherein the fluid is driven by capillary forces in at least two orthogonal directions, along the microstructures and along the at least one cross member.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present application discloses two-phase cooling devices that may include at least three substrates: a metal with a wicking structure, an intermediate substrate and a backplane. A fluid may be contained within the wicking structure and vapor cavity for transporting thermal energy from one region of the thermal ground plane to another region of the thermal ground plane, wherein the fluid may be driven by capillary forces within the wicking structure. The intermediate substrate may form narrow channels within the wicking structure, providing high capillary forces to support large pressure differences between the liquid and vapor phases, while minimizing viscous losses of the liquid flowing in the wicking structure.
24 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A thermal ground plane, comprising:
-
a metal substrate comprising a plurality of microstructures formed in the metal substrate, forming a wicking structure having the plurality of microstructures; a vapor cavity, in communication with the wicking structure and the plurality of microstructures; at least one intermediate substrate with a plurality of protrusions, wherein the plurality of protrusions are directly coupled to each other by at least one cross-member disposed internal to the vapor cavity on the opposite side of the at least one intermediate substrate relative to the metal substrate, and wherein the plurality of protrusions is shaped to increase the effective aspect ratio of the wicking structure by fitting into the plurality of microstructures of the wicking structure in at least one region of the wicking structure; and a fluid contained within the thermal ground plane for transporting thermal energy from at least one region of the thermal ground plane to another region of the thermal ground plane, wherein the fluid is driven by capillary forces in at least two orthogonal directions, along the microstructures and along the at least one cross member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
Specification