Electronics package with improved thermal management by thermoacoustic heat pumping
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsGregory M. Chrysler, David T. Vader
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Electronic chips are cooled to an efficient operating temperature by engaging their exposed planar surfaces with a heat sink assembly. The heat sink assembly is a part of the cold end heat sink of a thermoacoustic heat pump that utilizes either traveling wave or standing wave heat pumping to transport heat from the cold end heat exchanger to the warm end heat exchanger, utilizing a coaxial pulse tube refrigerator to pump or transport the heat from the electronic chips and the cold end heat exchanger.
Claims19
A thermoacoustic refrigeration unit for cooling an electronic chip comprising:
- a tube having first and second ends and having an interior and an exterior;
- an annular chamber surrounding said tube, said annular chamber comprising a regenerator chamber and a compression chamber;
- said regenerator chamber communicatively connected to said tube at a first end of said tube;
- a compression means at least partially disposed within said compression chamber and at least partially moveable from a first position to a second position;
- a surge reservoir communicatively connected to said tube at said second end of said tube;
- said second end of said tube comprising a first heat exchanger;
- said annular chamber containing and comprising a second heat exchanger;
- said first end of said tube partially closed by a third heat exchanger extending into said tube and having a heat exchange surface thereon exposed to said tube interior, said third heat exchanger comprising a surface exposed to the exterior of said tube;
- a thermally conductive contacting means disposed in contact with said surface exposed to said exterior of said tube;
- an electronic chip supported on a chip support substrate and disposed proximate said contacting means;
- means for urging said contacting means against said electronic chip;
- said compression chamber, said regenerator and said pulse tube containing a compressible gas;
- whereby displacement of said plunger compresses and decompresses said gas to cool said first end of said tube and said third heat exchanger, and heats said second end of said tube and said first heat exchanger, thereby providing a cooled region of said first end to absorb and transfer heat from said electronic chip to said second end of said tube.
A standing wave thermoacoustic refrigeration and electronic circuit chip cooling unit comprising:
- a thermoacoustic refrigerator containing a working fluid and comprising a warm end heat exchanger and a cold end heat exchanger;
- an electronic chip;
- a chip support means for supporting said electronic chip;
- a surface formed into said cold end heat exchanger;
- a thermally conductive heat transfer means for conducting heat from said electronic chip to said surface of said cold end heat exchanger and means to bias said heat transfer means against said electronic chip;
- means for controllably compressing and decompressing said working fluid:
- whereby said cold end heat exchanger is cooled and heat from said electronic chip is transferred from said chip to said warm end heat exchanger for dissipation.
A refrigeration apparatus for cooling an electronic assembly comprising:
- a co-axial thermoacoustic refrigeration means comprising at least a cold end heat exchanger and a warm end heat exchanger;
- a working fluid;
- a cyclical pressurization means;
- said cold end heat exchanger comprising a plurality of heat exchange surfaces disposed within said working fluid;
- and an engagement surface disposed exterior to said apparatus for disposition proximate said electronic assembly;
- heat conduction means for conducting heat disposed intermediate said engagement surface and said electronic assembly;
- whereby heat from said electronic assembly is conducted to said cold end heat exchanger through said engagement surface and transported from said cold end heat exchanger to said hot end heat exchanger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.