Development of Si-Based Micro-Fluidic Cooler for Thermal Management of Server Processor in Data Center

As a feasible and practical thermal management solution for continuously increasing power density in server processor, liquid cooling can provide many advantages of performance improvement. Si micro-fluid cooling, which can achieve high heat dissipation with low energy cost, has obtained extensive attentions. A Si-based micro-fluid cooler with micro-jet slot array and micro-scale draining trenches has been developed of data center server processor. The cooler is formed with 3 plates stacked together for flow circulating. The spatially average heat transfer coefficient (HTC) of ~ 9.6×104W/m2K can be achieved, with pressure drop and flowrate 1L/min. Multiphysics simulations have been performed to design and optimize the cooler structure and dimensions. Cooler performance characterization has been conducted on a thermal test chip of Pt heater and sensor. Experimental results agree quite well with the simulation results. Heat dissipation capability of 150W has been tested, while keeping the maximum chip temperature . The developed cooling solution based on micro-fluid technology can provide a strong support for stable operation of high performance data center.