Development of a SiC Micro-Evaporator for Evaporative Cooling of GaN Power Amplifiers

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 project will develop novel devices capable of actively cooling high power electronics using ceramic micro-channel evaporatos. Microelectronics with demanding thermal management characteristics are usedpredominantly as microprocessors and power electronics (HDTV modules, higher power logic and power transmit/receive). The number of microprocessors sold each year now exceeds a billion. These novel cooling devices can be integrated with semiconductordevice manufacturers and do multi-cooling tasks. The potential market size exceeds ten million units per month in the US. The miniaturization of active cooling systems allows for high power electronics to be cooled in an efficient manner and minimizethermal gradients within the electronic devices. These ceramic (silicon carbide) materials have been proven to be thermally and mechanically compatible with integrated circuits. Through this Phase 1 effort, micro-coolers will be developed that increasethe gas, fluid and heat transport within the system; yielding higher cooling rates. The research will examine and optimize, through fabrication and characterization, a micro-channel based evaporator capable of cooling high power GaN based poweramplifiers. The advancement of electronics has progressed to the point where heat dissipation is becoming the limiting factor in design. By utilizing these novel micro-coolers, high power electronics (such as power amplifiers, communication electronicsand computing electronics), performance can be increased and new technologies explored. Additionally, where space is a premium as in portable electronics found in transmit and receive modules, notebook computers and cell phones, more efficient coolingleads to smaller packages and more powerful electronics.