High performance heatsinks for processors and power electronics: Beyond extrusions

Forced air cooling of high density electronics has begun to reach space and weight limits beyond the performance capabilities of standard extrusions. Though extrusions are improving, other manufacturing techniques such as machining, bonded fin, investment casting, folded fin and semi-solid forging provide higher fin densities. When a particular operating condition, such as approach velocity, array velocity, pressure drop, air pumping power or a particular fan curve is fixed, there is an optimum thickness and number of fins for a given heatsink size. In many cases, the optimum design for a heatsink requires a fin density which can only be produced by one of the alternative methods