The invention relates to the field of cooling electronic devices and, in particular, to using circulating fluids to cool microprocessors, graphics processors, and other computer components.
Microprocessor dies typically used in personal computers are packaged in ceramic packages that have a lower surface provided with a large number of electrical contacts (e.g., pins) for connection to a socket mounted to a circuit board of a personal computer and an upper surface for thermal coupling to a heat sink. In the following description, a die and its package are referred to collectively as a microprocessor.
Elevation views of typical designs for heat sinks suggested by Intel Corporation for its Pentium® III microprocessor are shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.
In FIG. 1A, a passive heat sink indicated generally by reference numeral 110 is shown. The passive heat sink 110 comprises a thermal plate 112 from the upper surface of which a number of fins, one of which is indicated by reference numeral 114, protrude perpendicularly. The passive heat sink 110 is shown in FIG. 1A installed upon a microprocessor generally indicated by reference numeral 118. The microprocessor 118 is comprised of a die 116 and a package 120. The die 116 protrudes from the upper surface of the package 120. The lower surface of the package 120 is plugged into a socket 122, which is in turn mounted on a circuit board (not shown). The passive heat sink 110 is installed by bringing the lower surface of the thermal plate 112 into contact with the exposed surface of the die 116. When installed and operated as recommended by the manufacturer, ambient airflow passes between the fins in the direction shown by an arrow 124 in FIG. 1A.
In FIG. 1B, an active heat sink, indicated generally by reference numeral 126, is shown. The active heat sink 126 comprises a thermal plate 128 from the upper surface of which a number of fins 130 protrude perpendicularly. A fan 132 is mounted above the fins 130. The active heat sink 126 is shown in FIG. 1B installed upon a microprocessor, generally indicated by reference numeral 136, which is comprised of a die 134 and a package 138. The die 134 protrudes from the upper surface of the package 138. The lower surface of the package 138 is plugged into a socket 140, which is in turn mounted on a circuit board (not shown). The active heat sink 126 is installed by bringing the lower surface of the thermal plate 128 into contact with the exposed surface of the die 134. When installed and operated as recommended by the manufacturer, ambient air is forced between the fins 130 in the direction shown by an arrow 142 in FIG. 1B.
A difficulty with the cooling provided by the heat sinks shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is that at best the temperature of the thermal plates 112, 128 can only approach the ambient air temperature. If the microprocessor 118, 136 is operated at a high enough frequency, the die 116, 134 can become so hot that it is difficult to maintain a safe operating temperature at the die 116, 134 using air cooling in the manner shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.
Liquid cooling, which is inherently more efficient due to the greater heat capacity of liquids, has been proposed for situations in which air cooling in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B is inadequate. In a typical liquid cooling system, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1C, a heat conductive block 144 having internal passages or a cavity (not shown) replaces the thermal plate 128 in FIG. 1B. The block 144 has an inlet and an outlet, one of which is visible and indicated by reference numeral 146 in FIG. 1C. Liquid is pumped into the block 144 through the inlet and passes out of the block 144 through the outlet to a radiator or chiller (not shown) located at some distance from the block 144. The block 144 is shown in FIG. 1C installed upon a microprocessor generally indicated by reference numeral 148, which is comprised of a die 150 and a package 152. The die 150 protrudes from the upper surface of the package 152. The lower surface of the package 152 is plugged into a socket 154, which is in turn mounted on a circuit board (not shown). The block 144 is installed by bringing its lower surface into contact with the exposed surface of the die 150.
In all liquid cooling systems known to the inventor, only a small portion of the lower surface of the block 144 comes into contact with the die 150. Since the die 150 protrudes above the upper surface of the package 152, a gap 156 remains between the upper surface of the package 152 and the block 144. If the gap 156 is not filled with insulation and sealed, convective and radiative heat transfer from the package 152 to the block 144 may occur. This will have no serious consequences so long as the block 144 is not cooled below the dew point of the air in the gap 156. If the liquid pumped through block 144 is only cooled by a radiator, then that liquid and consequently the block 144, can only approach the ambient air temperature. However, if a chiller is used to cool the liquid, then the temperature of the block 144 can decrease below the ambient air temperature, which may allow condensation to form on the package 152 or the block 144. Such condensation, if not removed, can cause electrical shorts, which may possibly destroy the microprocessor 148.
Current solutions to the condensation problem referred to above include (1) controlling the chiller so that the temperature of the block 144 does not decrease below the dew point of the air in the gap 156 or (2) providing sufficient insulation and sealing material to prevent condensation from forming or to at least prevent any condensation that does form from reaching critical portions of the microprocessor 148 or surrounding circuit elements. Placing a lower limit on the temperature of the chiller limits the amount of heat that can effectively be removed from the microprocessor 148 without using bulky components. Further, the operating temperature of the microprocessor 148 can only approach the temperature of the block 144; operation at lower temperatures may be desirable in many circumstances. Alternatively, if insulation and sealing is used, trained technicians must do the installation properly if the installation is to be effective. If the insulation or seals fail, condensation can occur and cause catastrophic failure of the personal computer. A simpler, more reliable solution to the condensation problem is needed.