Case Studies
Liquid Cooling for High-Power Electronic Modules
by Dave P. Bono
Amulaire Thermal Technology
San Diego, CA
Overview
As power modules push new density and power limits, design engineers face greater challenges – and tradeoffs – in their choice of cooling systems. Air-cooled systems remain the predominant solution for low- to medium-power applications. However, as the power dissipation of electronic systems increases, alternative cooling solutions continue to be researched and engineered. The trend will follow Moore's Law, and the limitation of the increased power will be dependent on how many watts (heat) can be removed from a power module.
High-power electronics demand serious thermal solutions
Current air-based thermal solutions for high-power electronics are very crude: large, heavy and noisy. Attaching a 50-pound aluminum heat sink with a blower is not the most elegant method of cooling high-power electronics.
Air cooling is effective for low- to medium-power applications where space and noise are not a concern. But what is the best method for cooling high-power electronics, when air solutions are not practical or possible?
Many power engineers are afraid of liquid cooling, concerned about mixing liquid and electronics in close quarters. In fact, however, liquid cooling technology is very safe and well established.
The need for liquid cooling will only grow over time. Already, the PC/gaming community has been overclocking Intel and AMD processors for many years. As personal computers continue to increase power and add processing cores, the need for liquid cooling will reach from overclockers to the mainstream. The PC market has shown it will not allow Moore's law to die.
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Did You Know?
Primitive batteries capable of producing ½ volt of electricity were made in Mesopotamia between around 200 B.C. and 200 A.D. They were used mainly for electroplating silver onto copper.