(June 4, 2016) DARPA is seeking out solutions for the massive problem of heat buildup in microchips. They think they found it in microfluidic cooling.
They’ve initiated a program called ICECool Applications (Intra/Interchip Enhanced Cooling), according to TechRepublic.com, which is “exploring disruptive thermal technologies that will mitigate thermal limitations on the operation of military electronic systems while significantly reducing the size, weight, and power consumption.”
“What is unique about this method of cooling is the push to use a combination of intra- and/or inter-chip microfluidic cooling and on-chip thermal interconnects,” reported TechRepublic.
The DARPA ICECool Application announcement notes, “Such miniature intra- and/or inter-chip passages may take the form of axial micro-channels, radial passages, and/or cross-flow passages, and may involve micro-pores and manifolded structures to distribute and re-direct liquid flow, including in the form of localized liquid jets, in the most favorable manner to meet the specified heat flux and heat density metrics.”
According to TechRepublic, “Lockheed Martin is already designing and building a functional microfluidic cooled transmit antenna [with Qorvo].”
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