Advancements and challenges in ultra-thin vapor chambers for high-efficiency electronic thermal management: A comprehensive review

Portable electronic products are continuously evolving towards compactness, integration, and high performance, resulting in electronic chips generating significant heat in a confined space. This has led to severe heat dissipation challenges that impede further development. Ultra-thin vapor chambers have garnered considerable attention due to their exceptional thermal performance and potential applications in various fields. Enhancing the heat transfer capabilities of ultra-thin vapor chambers is crucial for overcoming the heat dissipation bottleneck in electronic products. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in ultra-thin vapor chambers, with a focus on the vapor-liquid transport mechanism, working fluid selection, packaging processes, wick structure design and optimization, and surface modification of the capillary wick. Additionally, the challenges and potential solutions in ultra-thin vapor chambers fabrication are discussed, including the selection of suitable working fluids and capillary structure design. Furthermore, the review concludes by highlighting the future research directions and prospects of ultra-thin vapor chambers, such as improving theoretical guidance, exploring new working fluids, designing micro-nano composite multi-gradient coupled wicks, and developing advanced manufacturing processes. The objective of this review is to serve as a valuable reference for the design and development of future ultra-thin vapor chambers.