Prototype Development and Exploitation of a Microporous Metal based Cold Plate for the advanced Thermal Management of Semiconductors Devices

随着技术的发展，计算机处理硬件的热管理变得越来越重要，生产的组件测试当前主流强制空气计算机冷却技术的能力。在不久的将来，处理硬件的液体冷却将变得司空见惯，以实现处理器性能的持续改进。该项目将利用先前TSB项目开发的消失碳酸盐烧结法(LCS)生产的泡沫铜的显著热性能优势；用于采用液体冷却技术的处理器冷却的实际应用。该项目将生产一种低成本、高性能的LCS铜泡沫冷板原型，用于集成到现有的液体冷却回路中。为了有效地实施这个项目，Versarien Ltd将与利物浦大学的多孔金属小组和CTech Innovation密切合作，传递知识，以开发LCS泡沫铜作为一种有效冷板材料的潜力。通过对现有冷板的传热性能和冷却能力进行基准测试，Versarien Ltd将展示LCS泡沫铜相对于当前技术水平的更高性能潜力。需要创新，以确保制造符合所需参数的一致性，特别是关于LCS泡沫铜的孔几何和孔隙率水平的一致性。为了确保表面处理的尺寸、质量和适合性一致，以及创新的粘接技术，所有这些都必须开发出来；结果是生产出高性能的冷板，提供更低成本的更安静、更高效的液体冷却系统。材料和工艺的更多机会存在于其他应用中，如燃料电池、发光二极管、电力电子和核工业

Thermal management of computer processing hardware is becoming increasingly important as technology evolves, producing components which test the capabilities of current mainstream forced air computer cooling technologies. Liquid cooling of processing hardware will become commonplace in the near future to enable the continued improved performance of processors. The project will exploit the significant thermal performance advantages of copper foam produced by Lost Carbonate Sintering (LCS) as developed in a previous TSB project; to be used in the real world application of processor cooling utilising liquid cooling technology. The project will produce a low cost, high performance LCS copper foam cold plate prototype for integration into existing liquid cooling loops. To deliver this project effectively Versarien Ltd will work closely with the Porous Metals Group at the University of Liverpool and CTech Innovation to transfer knowledge in order to exploit the potential of LCS copper foam as an effective cold plate material. By benchmarking the heat transfer properties and cooling capabilities of existing cold plates, Versarien Ltd will demonstrate the increased performance potential of LCS copper foam against the current state of the art. Innovation will be required in order to ensure manufacturing consistency in line with required parameters, specifically regarding uniformity of pore geometry and level of porosity of LCS copper foam. Manipulation of the material in order to ensure consistent size, quality and suitability of finish, along with innovative bonding techniques all must be developed; resulting in the production of a high performance cold plate, providing lower cost access to quieter, more efficient liquid cooling systems. Further opportunities for the material and the processes exist in additional applications such as fuel cells, LEDS, power electronics and the nuclear industry