US 2025/0374484 A1 · ULTRAFAST THERMAL SWITCH

Abstract

A thermal switch includes a cooling liquid reservoir, an acoustic droplet generator, and an array of micro-nozzles. A control signal can indicate to the acoustic droplet generator to generate an acoustic wave which pushed cooling liquid from the cooling liquid reservoir through the array of micro-nozzles. The micro-nozzles utilize an inverted geometry where the entrance is larger than the exit to cause an increase in pressure to allow a specific amount of cooling liquid to be released as a droplet. The droplets from the array of micro-nozzles form a droplet array on a heat component thereby allowing a thermal energy transfer to take place, where the thin liquid film absorbs the thermal energy and changes state to a vapor. The heat component can be a heat sink, a chip, an integrated circuit, or other type of component.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A thermal switch system for controlling heat dissipation of a device, including:

an array of micro-nozzles, the array of micro-nozzles configured to receive a cooling liquid at an entrance of each micro-nozzle in the array of micro-nozzles and to release the cooling liquid toward the device at an exit of each micro-nozzle, wherein the entrance is larger than the exit;
and
an acoustic droplet generator located proximate the array of micro-nozzles and configured to acoustically force a portion of the cooling liquid through the entrance of at least one micro-nozzle in the array of micro-nozzles, the acoustic droplet generator further configured to receive a control signal and based thereon control a time and an amount of the cooling liquid forced through the at least one micro-nozzle.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Ultrafast thermal switch

Life of this patent

Ultrafast thermal switch

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims23