Method for achieving scalable two-phase cooling plates

Abstract

Effective two-phase cooling is provided to large devices even with a length of 10 cm due to a channel configuration to achieve formed minichannels comprising porous wall structures. Baseplate features comprise a substrate defining the minichannels, with each minichannel formed between a pair of side walls and a bottom surface thereof. The side walls of the plurality of minichannels respectively form terminal walls for each of the respective minichannels. A microgap configuration is formed between the terminal wall of at least one of the plurality of minichannels and an adjacent layer.

Claims

1. Method for achieving effective two-phase cooling on electronic devices having an area of one cm by one cm or larger, comprising integrating at least one minichannel structure directly associated with baseplate features of the electronic devices, wherein the baseplate features comprise a substrate defining at least one minichannel formed between a pair of side walls and a bottom surface thereof, the formed minichannel comprises porous wall structures, and the formed minichannel and substrate are made from copper sintering.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the minichannel is substantially rectangular in cross-section, such that each of the side walls is substantially perpendicular to the bottom surface.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the minichannel has width and depth measurements of at least 1 mm by at least 1 mm.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises one of brass, copper, a copper alloy, nickel, a nickel alloy, or a combination thereof.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein each minichannel has a length of at least 60 mm.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electronic devices have an area of up to ten cm by five cm or larger, and the electronic devices comprise commercial electronics or power electronic modules.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the side walls of the minichannel form at least one terminal wall for the minichannel, and the method further comprises fabricating a microgap configuration between the terminal wall of the minichannel and a layer adjacent thereto.

8. Th method according to claim 7, wherein capillary flow is induced by said microgap configuration during associated cooling fluid flow, and wherein the microgap configuration has a thickness of up to 460 um.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the microgap configuration is at least 60 m thick.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is operated for dissipating up to 750 Watts, and associated two-phase cooling uses a cooling water flowrate of between 12.5 and 50 ml/min.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the side walls form reservoir channels.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the porous wall structures have a porosity of at least 60%, and the reservoir channels are at least 100 um width.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the porous wall structures have a porosity of at least 65%, and width of each of the reservoir channels is at least 140 m, and associated two-phase cooling uses a cooling water flowrate of at least 25 ml/min.

14. Method for achieving effective two-phase cooling on electronic devices having an area of one cm by one cm or larger, comprising defining a plurality of minichannels integrated into a substrate and directly associated with baseplate features of the electronic devices, wherein each minichannel is formed between a pair of side walls and a bottom surface thereof, the side walls of the plurality of minichannels respectively form terminal walls for each of the respective minichannels, the method further comprises fabricating a microgap configuration between the terminal wall of at least one of said plurality of minichannels and a layer adjacent thereto, capillary flow is induced by said microgap configuration during associated cooling fluid flow, and wherein the microgap configuration has a thickness of up to 460 um.

15. Method according to claim 14, wherein each minichannel is substantially rectangular in cross-section.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein each minichannel has width and depth measurements of at least 1 mm by 1 mm.

17. Method according to claim 14, wherein the substrate comprises one of brass, copper, a copper alloy, nickel, a nickel alloy, or a combination thereof.

18. Method according to claim 14, wherein the substrate and formed minichannel are fabricated through 3-D printing or through copper sintering.

19. Method according to claim 18, wherein the formed minichannel comprises porous wall structures, and the formed minichannel and substrate are made from copper sintering.

20. The method according to claim 14, wherein each minichannel has a length of at least 60 mm.

21. Method according to claim 14, wherein the electronic devices have an area of up to ten cm by five cm or larger, and the electronic devices comprise commercial electronics or power electronic modules.

22. Method according to claim 14, wherein the electronic device is operated for dissipating up to 750 Watts, and associated two-phase cooling uses a cooling water flowrate of between 12.5 and 50 ml/min.

23. The method according to claim 14, wherein the formed minichannels comprise porous wall structures with side walls which form reservoir channels.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the porous wall structures have a porosity of at least 60%, and the reservoir channels are at least 100 pm width.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the porous wall structures have a porosity of at least 65%, and width of each of the reservoir channels is at least 140 pm, and associated two-phase cooling uses a cooling water flowrate of at least 25 ml/min.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) A full and enabling disclosure of the presently disclosed subject matter, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1A illustrates an image/schematic layer cross-section of a representative exemplary power module cooled by conventional minichannel technology; and

(3) FIG. 1B graphically illustrates drawback of chip temperature for the arrangement of FIG. 1A;

(4) FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic layer/cross-section of a representative exemplary power module cooled by presently disclosed technology;

(5) FIGS. 3A through 3C respectively illustrate images of devices with a) smooth wall b) slot and c) porous wall features, respectively, fabricated in accordance with presently disclosed subject matter;

(6) FIG. 4A illustrates a device fabricated with particular channel lengths, widths, and depths in accordance with presently disclosed subject matter;

(7) FIG. 4B illustrates an enlarged cross-sectional view schematic of the presently disclosed subject matter of FIG. 4A, including use of a presently disclosed microgap feature thereof;

(8) FIG. 4C illustrates an enlarged side view schematic of the presently disclosed subject matter of FIG. 4A, including use of a presently disclosed microgap feature thereof;

(9) FIG. 5A schematically illustrates an exemplary device cooled by conventional minichannel technology in conjunction with associated flow direction;

(10) FIG. 5B schematically illustrates an exemplary device cooled by presently disclosed technology with presently disclosed microgap, in conjunction with associated flow direction;

(11) FIG. 6 illustrates visualization of an exemplary device cooled by presently disclosed technology with presently disclosed designed gaps, in conjunction with associated flow direction at flow rate of 25 ml/min;

(12) FIG. 7A graphically represents the super-cooling capability of conventional minichannel technology;

(13) FIG. 7B graphically represents the super-cooling capability of presently disclosed technology with presently disclosed microgap features;

(14) FIG. 8A graphically represents results using various gap embodiments, and reflecting optimal gap thickness resulting with the 60 m-gap embodiment, which has capillary flow providing the best performance;

(15) FIG. 8B graphically represents critical heat flux (CHF) results from presently disclosed subject matter;

(16) FIGS. 9A through 9C respectively illustrate graphics, image, and enlarged image representations of exemplary embodiments of presently disclosed subject matter particularly for addressing local liquid spreading;

(17) FIG. 10 illustrates a top view visualization of an exemplary device cooled by presently disclosed technology with presently disclosed designed porous minichannel with reservoir channel configuration;

(18) FIGS. 11A and 11B graphically illustrate significantly reduced wall temperatures after improving local liquid spreading through use of presently disclosed embodiments utilizing (11A) minichannels with gaps, and (11B) porous minichannels with reservoir channel;

(19) FIGS. 12A and 12B respectively illustrate side and top view images of an exemplary implementation of presently disclosed subject matter, resulting in integrating minichannel cooling on a power module;

(20) FIG. 13A illustrates an image of a representative exemplary power module cooled by presently disclosed technology;

(21) FIG. 13B graphically illustrates drawback of chip temperature for the arrangement of FIG. 13A;

(22) FIG. 14 illustrates a schematic of a representative experimental setup incorporating presently disclosed subject matter;

(23) FIG. 15A illustrates a perspective schematic in partial see-through of an exemplary embodiment incorporating presently disclosed subject matter; and

(24) FIG. 15B graphically illustrates certain results regarding thermal resistance versus power dissipation of the representative FIG. 15A embodiment.

(25) Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and figures is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements or steps of the presently disclosed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY DISCLOSED SUBJECT MATTER

(26) It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosure is a description of exemplary embodiments only and is not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the disclosed subject matter. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the presently disclosed subject matter, not limitation of the presently disclosed subject matter. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the presently disclosed subject matter without departing from the scope or spirit of the presently disclosed subject matter. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the presently disclosed subject matter covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

(27) The present disclosure is generally directed to improved two-phase cooling plates. Further, in particular, the presently disclosed subject matter relates to improved two-phase cooling plates which are scalable (meaning capable of implementation with relatively larger sizes).

(28) More specifically, FIG. 1A illustrates an image (upper portion of Figure) and schematic layer cross-section (lower portion of Figure) of a representative exemplary power module cooled by conventional minichannel technology. FIG. 1A shows where junction temperatures (Tj) 1 and 2 are situated on the exemplary devices. As understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, junction temperature is the temperature at joints on a semiconductor chip. FIG. 1B graphically illustrates drawback of chip temperature for the arrangement of FIG. 1A, based on a flowrate of water 25 ml/min, and involving as an example a Wolfspeed power module.

(29) FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic layer/cross-section of a representative exemplary power module cooled by presently disclosed technology. As illustrated and represented, comparing FIG. 2 with conventional (prior art) FIG. 1, the cold plate layer and the thermal interface material (TIM) of FIG. 1 are omitted. Also, as illustrated, minichannels are directly integrated in/on the backside (baseplate) of the power module. Such presently disclosed subject matter of the FIG. 2 configuration advantageously results in an approximate 35% reduction of total thermal resistance over that of the FIG. 1 configuration.

(30) Generally speaking, advantages of two-phase cooling as presently disclosed provides relatively increased module power density. With both the baseplate and thermal interface material (TIM) eliminated, the thermal power is increased.

(31) Another resulting advantage is increased lifetime. For example, two-phase cooling can reduce junction temperature excursion TJ during thermal cycling, increasing the number of allowable thermal cycles by more than 400.

(32) Yet another resulting advantage is improved thermal uniformity. In other words, there is a reduction of temperature difference between chips, which enhances reliability of power module.

(33) Still further, the presently disclosed configuration advantageously reduces required cooling fluid flow rate. The required two-phase cooling flow rate of 25 ml/min is reduced by 300 compared to a conventional cold plate, requiring 8 L/min.

(34) Also, system size and weight can be advantageously reduced. The 300 reduction in cooling flow rate brings a huge reduction in sizes of the pump, heat exchangers, and coolant piping.

(35) Presently disclosed subject matter addresses challenges in implementing minichannel flow boiling cooling. For example, one issue relates to scaling effect, which involves created difficulties when trying to go from sizes of about a centimeter to about ten centimeters, which can be problematic due to poor liquid supplies at both global and local level. Microchannel up to 1000 W/cm.sup.2 and minichannels to about 50-1000 W/cm.sup.2 and may be referenced.

(36) Other issues may relate to two-phase instabilities, such as local dryout and oscillations of both temperature and pressure drops.

(37) Presently disclosed subject matter considers and investigates solutions such as micro-gap structure being provided an auxiliary liquid supply. Another approach relates to use of a porous minichannel structure with reservoir channel to mitigate dry out and improve local liquid spreading.

(38) Further, yet another approach relates to a minichannel structure realized directly on the module baseplate in order to eliminate thermal interfacial resistance associated with conventional cold plates, and to reduce weight.

(39) FIGS. 3A through 3C respectively illustrate images of devices with a) smooth wall b) slot and c) porous wall features, respectively, fabricated in accordance with presently disclosed subject matter. FIGS. 3A through 3C in fact comprise prototypes for minichannel evaluation. In particular, the minichannels with smooth wall and slot structures were fabricated by 3-D printing. The minichannels with porous wall structures were made from copper sintering.

(40) FIGS. 4A through 4C relate to presently disclosed concepts of two-phase cooling to address global liquid supply. Specifically, FIG. 4A illustrates a device fabricated with particular channel lengths, widths, and depths in accordance with presently disclosed subject matter. Those particular Cu channel lengthwidthdepth measurements for this exemplary embodiment as shown are: 59.75 mm1 mm1 mm.

(41) FIG. 4B illustrates an enlarged cross-sectional view schematic of the presently disclosed subject matter of FIG. 4A, including use of a presently disclosed microgap feature thereof. The microgap features are in addition to the illustrated minichannel features. The exemplary microgap represented is 60 m. FIG. 4C illustrates an enlarged side view schematic of the presently disclosed subject matter of FIG. 4A, including use of the presently disclosed microgap feature thereof. As shown, capillary flow is induced by the microgap configuration, which is situated in a partial space between the minichannel face of the baseplate and an associated transparent window.

(42) Both FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a left to right flow direction designation in conjunction with the represented device configurations. In particular, FIG. 5A schematically illustrates an exemplary device cooled by conventional minichannel technology in conjunction with associated flow direction, while FIG. 5B schematically illustrates an exemplary device cooled by presently disclosed technology with presently disclosed microgap, in conjunction with associated flow direction.

(43) FIG. 5A (based on conventional subject matter) represents vapor slug expansion in both lateral directions (left and right) along a channel feature interspersed with wall features. FIG. 5B (based on presently disclosed subject matter) represents rewetting flow achieved in the added gap feature, with vapor expansion occurring in a direction perpendicular to the represented flow direction.

(44) FIG. 6 illustrates visualization of an exemplary device cooled by presently disclosed technology with presently disclosed designed gaps, and alternating channel and wall features. The subject configuration is visualized in conjunction with associated flow direction at flow rate of 25 ml/min for a 650 Watt configuration (50 fps, video taken at 1000 fps).

(45) FIGS. 7A and 7B highlight and contrast respective super-cooling capabilities of conventional and presently disclosed subject matter. In particular, FIG. 7A graphically represents the super-cooling capability of conventional minichannel technology, while FIG. 7B graphically represents the super-cooling capability of presently disclosed technology with presently disclosed microgap features. Both graphs are associated with a cooling water flowrate of 25 ml/min. Both FIGS. 7A and 7B graph wall temperature versus location.

(46) FIG. 8A graphically represents results using various gap embodiments in a 400 Watt configuration, with cooling water flow of 25 ml/min. As graphically shown, an optimal gap thickness results with the 60 m-gap embodiment, which means there is capillary flow providing the best performance.

(47) FIG. 8B graphically represents critical heat flux (CHF) results from presently disclosed subject matter, graphing average Tc versus power dissipation (in Watts).

(48) FIGS. 9A through 9C respectively illustrate graphics, image, and enlarged image representations of exemplary embodiments of presently disclosed subject matter particularly for addressing local liquid spreading. In particular, such improved embodiment to address local liquid spreading makes use of porous minichannel configurations, as represented in FIG. 9A. The reservoir channels may be preferably about 140 m. Such sizing may be practiced again with the presently disclosed 60 m gap configuration. The enlarged segment represented by FIG. 9B illustrates one exemplary porosity of about 66.85%, and more closely shows the top-most positioning of the reservoir channel. A range of mostly porous porosities (that is, above 50%) may be practiced. FIG. 9C illustrates an enlarged electron scan of the associated materials, taken of a portion of FIG. 9A, as illustrated.

(49) FIG. 10 illustrates a top view visualization of an exemplary device cooled by presently disclosed technology with presently disclosed designed porous minichannel with reservoir channel configuration. The top view visualization of FIG. 10 comes from 50 fps, video taken at 1000 fps, with a left to right flow direction of a device dissipating 550 Watts with a cooling flow rate of 25 ml/min. As shown, a main channel feature is interspersed with a porous wall with reservoir channel feature.

(50) FIGS. 11A and 11B graphically illustrate significantly reduced wall temperatures after improving local liquid spreading through use of presently disclosed embodiments. In particular, FIG. 11A highlights improved results utilizing the presently disclosed embodiment of minichannels with gaps, while FIG. 11B represents improved results from the presently disclosed porous minichannels with reservoir channel configuration. Both graphs chart wall temperature versus location (on the device), per various power dissipation configurations, and both graphs involve embodiments making use of cooling water flowrates of 25 ml/min. While FIG. 11A represents an improvement generally, the FIG. 11B configurations show a further average temperature drop of 13 C.

(51) FIGS. 12A and 12B respectively illustrate side and top view images of an exemplary implementation of presently disclosed subject matter, resulting in integrating minichannel cooling on a power module. The top view of FIG. 12B includes a visual augmentation of a dotted-line box to mark the minichannel region of the presently disclosed embodiment.

(52) FIG. 13A illustrates an image of a representative exemplary power module cooled by presently disclosed technology, as shown per FIGS. 12A and 12B. FIG. 13B graphically illustrates drawback of chip temperature for the arrangement of FIG. 13A. As shown, the presently disclosed embodiment results in an upper-end of scale chip temperature drawback improvement of about 32 C. versus conventional cooling configurations. Again, the embodiment represented was a Wolfspeed power module subjected to a cooling water flowrate of 25 ml/min.

(53) FIGS. 14 and 15A represent a presently disclosed experimental setup based on use of a Wolfspeed SiC power module CAB450M12XM3, rated for 1200V and 450 A operation. In particular, FIG. 14 illustrates a schematic of a representative experimental setup incorporating presently disclosed subject matter, and FIG. 15A illustrates a perspective schematic in partial see-through of an exemplary embodiment setup incorporating presently disclosed subject matter.

(54) FIG. 15B reflects the demonstrated effectiveness of minichannel flow boiling in accordance with presently disclosed technology. In particular, FIG. 15B graphically illustrates certain results regarding thermal resistance versus power dissipation of the representative FIG. 15A embodiment.

(55) Thermal resistance of coldplate R.sub.th(cp) is a key parameter to quantify thermal performance directly. The definition is given by the following equation:
R.sub.th(cp)=[Average(T.sub.C)(T.sub.inlet+T.sub.outlet)/2]/P.sub.diss

(56) R.sub.th(cp) for the two-phase cooling (TPC) case (presently disclosed technology) decreases remarkably compared with R.sub.th(cp) for single-phase cooling (SPC) case (conventional technology). The minimum of R.sub.th(cp) for TPC case is 2.41 times, 2.37 times, and 1.91 times smaller than that for SPC case.

(57) This written description uses examples to disclose the presently disclosed subject matter, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the presently disclosed subject matter, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the presently disclosed subject matter is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. While certain embodiments of the disclosed subject matter have been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter.