Development of a MEMS micro loop heat pipe for electronics cooling

Industry forecasts and roadmaps, despite the source are in agreement semiconductor devices are hot and getting hotter! This paper presents recent empirical/modeling results about a MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical-systems) based two-phase LHP (loop heat pipe), heavily using semiconductor grade silicon and microlithographic/anisotrophic etching techniques to achieve a planar configuration, as opposed to the normal cylindrical shape of the cooling surface of ordinary heat pipes. Here the principal working material is silicon (and compatible borosilicate glass where necessary), particularly compatible with the cooling needs for electronic and computer chips and package cooling. The micro loop heat pipes (mu LHP (TM)) utilizes cutting edge microfabrication. The device has no pump or moving parts, and is capable of moving heat at high power densities, using revolutionary coherent porous silicon(CPS) wicks.