A Review of Select Patented Technologies for Cooling of High Heat Flux Power Semiconductor Devices

The development of wide band-gap power electronics over the last two decades has stimulated a tremendous amount of research into high performance liquid cooling solutions for high heat flux (200-1000 W/cm $^{2}$ ) power semiconductor devices. A patent literature search for electronics cooling technologies was conducted in the late-2000 time frame and promising technologies for high performance thermal management were identified, at that time, for research and development. These promising technologies were separated into four categories classified as single-phase (i.e., liquid) jet impingement cooling, microchannel cooling, phase change or two-phase cooling, and near-junction including direct chip cooling. In this Letter, a perspective is provided on select patents from our group that stem from research into these technology areas from 2010 to 2022. Additionally, the thermal-fluid performance capability of each technology is briefly summarized. As a whole, the Letter provides a demonstration of the historical significance of power electronics cooling technology on the mobility industry and briefly outlines future directions for research and development.