Optimization of finned heat sinks for impingement cooling of electronic packages

The study of optimization of finned heat sinks for impingement cooling of electronic components was undertaken. The procedure was based on a semiempirical zonal approach to the determination of thermal resistance as well as pressure drop. To test the validity of the model's predictions, experiments and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations were performed. The results provided support for the approach, The model enables cost-effective design calculations to be performed for the optimization of heat sinks. We performed such calculations to optimize an LSI heat sink in consideration of sixteen design parameters, including fin thickness, fin spacing, fin height, and flow-orifice dimensions. For the particular application considered in our study, the optimum fin thickness was found to be 0.15 mm. The characteristics and limitations of air cooling for such applications were investigated under various conditions.