The more powerful processors become, the hotter they get. Due to overheating, manufacturers have to install massive heatsinks, fans, and make device designs more complex. However, Russian scientists from the Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS have proposed a hybrid cooling method that can help make compact electronics more powerful, thinner, and cheaper.
This refers to a hybrid heat exchanger with water cooling. It can be imagined as a thin, sealed copper plate that adheres to the chip and removes excess heat from it. Microchannels with water pass inside this plate. Usually, this approach works well, but under extreme heating, vapor plugs and “dry spots” appear – areas where the liquid stops flowing normally. Because of this, the cooling system loses efficiency.
Russian thermophysicists proposed solving the problem using a hydrophilic layer on the channel walls. It helps water distribute evenly over the surface and prevents dry areas from appearing. At the same time, the water inside the system can boil – and this is precisely useful: when the liquid turns into steam, it absorbs much more heat than during normal heating.
But boiling creates another difficulty: pressure can change in different microchannels, and steam begins to interfere with the normal movement of water. To avoid this, scientists added microjets. Liquid is supplied through small holes in thin streams, washes away steam, and constantly brings fresh water to the hottest areas of the processor. Therefore, the system is called hybrid: microchannels remove heat, and microjets prevent the chip from overheating.
Such a development is needed for powerful compact electronics, where more and more heat is generated in a very small area. If it can be implemented in production, laptops, wearable devices, and other equipment can become thinner, more powerful, and do without bulky heatsinks and fans. Intel, Frore Systems, and Microsoft are trying to solve a similar problem.