Feasibility study of nanofluid cooling techniques for microelectronic systems

There has been an increasing interest of using nanoparticle dispersed fluids, or nanofluids, for heat transfer enhancements. In this study, the feasibility of nanofluid cooling technique for microelectronic systems is examined. Three major types of nanofluids dispersed with Al₂O₃, SiC and CuO of different volume fractions were prepared through a two-step process. The thermal conductivities of the nanofluid were measured based on the steady-state parallel plate method. Thermal conductivity enhancements were identified of 3-12% for SiC and CuO nanofluids and 3-8% for Al₂O₃ nanofluids. Moreover, the nanofluids cooling performance was tested in a liquid cooling jig for both single channel heat sink (SCHS) and microchannel heat sink (MCHS) on a thermal test die. It was found that there was almost no thermal enhancement for single channel heat sink with the Al₂O₃ and SiC nanofluids. On the other hand, a maximum reduction of 11% in thermal enhancement was obtained for microchannel heat sink (MCHS), at the expense of a much higher pressure drop. Clogging issues associated with the nanofluid cooling are also discussed.