Microsystems Packaging Research Center

Jump to Content


Campus Directory Campus Map College of Engineering Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech >> College of Engineering >> ECE >> PRC
Welcome \| Academics \| Students \| Faculty & Staff \| Research \| Industry Partnerships \| News Archive

Technology Alliances
Digital Packaging, Microvia and Global Interconnect, Embedded Optoelectronics,
SOP Design Technology, RF Packaging, Thermal Management, Wafer Level Packaging

Thermal Management: Portable & Desk-Top Systems

Industry's Strategic Need back

Cooling technology for microsystems has evolved significantly over the past two decades. As the levels of systems functionality and IC speed continue to increase dramatically, a move towards high performance, high reliability and energy-efficient cooling techniques are needed. In addition to high performance applications, there is a parallel push toward the development of ultra-compact mobile products, which are requiring ever-shrinking volumes of thermal management solutions. A portfolio of cooling solutions is therefore required. The Georgia Tech Microsystems Packaging Research Center is focusing on these solutions jointly with the University of Maryland.

Research Directions back

1. Energy-efficient thermal management of electronic enclosures (cooling of server clusters and multiple telecommunications cabinets; systems modeling issues; optimization of thermal management hardware)
2. Fundamental thermal management methods development (enhanced heat sinks; composite heat spreaders; air jet impingement; smart heat sinks using phase change materials; heat pipe spreaders; enhanced boiling; sprays; liquid cooled cold plates; liquid cooled microchannels; thermosyphons; single phase flow loops)
3. Thermal modeling and characterization (multi-scale modeling methodology; multi-mode combined transport; thermal metrology; thermophysical properties)
4. Prototype implementation activities (data centers, microprocessor cooling, cooling of electronic and telecommunications enclosures)

Testbed Integration and Deliverables back

Phase 1: Thermal solutions: mobile systems (up to 40 W per chip), high performance systems (up to 100 W per chip); cooling options for data centers.
Phase 2: Thermal solutions: mobile systems (up to 60 W per chip), high performance systems (up to 150 W per chip); data center prototyping.
Phase 3: Thermal solutions: mobile systems (up to 80 W per chip), high performance systems (up to 200 W per chip); advanced cooling options for data centers.

Recent Advances back

A number of thermal management methods utilizing air and liquid have been developed by the team. Synthetic jet-augmented heat sinks and two-phase thin heat spreader technologies have been developed for portable electronics applications. For heat fluxes above 50 W/cm2 liquid cooling schemes utilizing single phase and two-phase transport have been developed. These include stacked micro-channels, two-phase thermosyphons, and vibration induced droplet atomization methods. Efforts have focused both on a fundamental understanding of these techniques, as well as prototype demonstrations on candidate electronic systems. A parallel effort has focused on the development of thermal characterization techniques through computational modeling. Of particular interest are methodologies for multi-scale modeling, multi-mode transport predictions, and reduced models for thermal design and optimization.

Facilities back

The research facilities include characterization and microfabrication capabilities in the laboratories of the participating faculty. Flow and temperature measurements can be performed all the way from chip-level to system-level. Some of the key equipment includes:

Infrared microscopy (chip-level temperature measurements with ~5
micron resolution)
Liquid crystal thermal imaging
Hot wire anemometry and particle image velocimetry for measurements
of flow fields
High speed video camera (upto ~1000 frames/s)
Air flow rate and pressure drop measurements
Thermocouple thermometry
Wafer dicing saw for microchannel fabrication
Wire bonder

Selected Publications back

1. "Compact Thermosyphons Employing Microfabricated Components," C. Ramaswamy, Y. Joshi, W. Nakayama, and W.B. Johnson, Microscale Thermophysical Engineering, Vol. 3, pp. 273-282, 1999.

2. "Thermal Characterization of a Liquid Cooled AlSiC Base Plate With Integral Fins," K.A. Moores, Y. Joshi and G. Schiroky, IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies, Vol. 24, pp. 213-219, 2001.

3. "Microjet Cooling Devices for Thermal management of Electronics", Kercher, D. S., Lee, J. B., Brand, O., Allen, M. G., and Glezer, IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology (To appear), 2002.

Research Focus back	Research Team back	E-Mail Address back
High performance and energy efficient thermal management from chip to system level	Prof. Yogendra Joshi, Alliance Leader	yogendra.joshi@me.gatech.edu
Singe and two-phase fluidic-based thermal management enhancement technologies	Prof. Ari Glezer	ari.glezer@me.gatech.edu
Sustainable thermal design	Prof. Avram Bar-Cohen, Univ. of Maryland	barcohen@eng.umd.edu
Energy efficient thermal management of large Infrastructure spaces	Prof. Reinhard Radermacher, Univ. of Maryland	radar@eng.umd.edu

Industry Partners and Sponsor back

Semiconductor Research Corporation, DARPA, Intel, Honeywell

Contact for Additional Information back

Prof. Yogendra Joshi
Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332
404-385-2810 (voice)
404-894-8496 (fax)
Yogendra.Joshi@me.gatech.edu

Prof. Ari Glezer
Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332
404-894-3266 (voice)
404-894-8496 (fax)
Ari.Glezer@me.gatech.edu