The concept of integrating vapor chamber into a housing of electronic devices for increased thermal reliability

Systematic increase in computational power and continuous miniaturization of automotive electronic controllers pose a challenge to maintaining allowable temperature of semiconductor components, preventing premature wear-out or, in extreme cases, unacceptable shutdown of these devices. For these reasons, efficient and durable cooling systems are gaining importance in modern car technology design, showing critical influence on reliability of vehicle electronics. Vapor chambers (flat heat pipes) which could support heat management of automotive electronic controllers in the nearest future are passive devices, which transport heat through evaporation-condensation process of a working liquid. At present, vapor chambers are not commercially used in cooling systems of automotive controllers, being a subject of research and development endeavors aimed at understanding their influence on thermomechanical reliability of semiconductor devices used in cars. This paper presents a concept of an electronic controller aluminum housing integrated with a vapor chamber. The conceptual design was numerically validated in elevated temperature, typical for automotive ambient conditions. The paper discusses influence of the vapor chamber-based cooling system on the controller’s thermal performance, as well as on its reliability, expressed as the expected lifetime of the device.