Designed for Next Generation of High-End Processors
Later this year, Cooligy Inc. says, it will begin shipping PC manufacturers qualification systems that demonstrate a new technology for chilling microprocessor “hot spots” — Active Microchannel Cooling, which promises to keep even next-generation, high-speed, high-heat CPUs working reliably with less bulk than today’s heat sinks, heat pipes, and fan sinks.
The Cooligy scheme employs a micro-machined silicon heat collector that fits on top of the processor package. A very dense area of tiny channels etched into the silicon lets water or some other fluid circulate through the layer, absorbing and removing heat. A new, solid-state electrokinetic pump — noiseless and with no moving parts — circulates the fluid in a sealed loop through the heat collector and to a radiator that transfers the heat to the air. Cooligy says the system has been shown to effectively cool hot spots of up to 1,000 watts per square centimeter.