This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the need for compact, low cost thermal packaging to cool high power and high-density electronics. This project will develop an automated freeform fabrication process based on stereolithography to fabricate the high performance thermal packages. The research objectives include demonstrating that the fabrication approach can produce the thermal substrates with dimensional tolerances comparable to current substrates and much higher heat flux capacity. Prototype packages will be fabricated and laboratory tested to measure heat flux. The anticipated results will show heat flux capacity of several hundred W/cm2, with the ultimate goal of 1,000 W/cm2 achieved through development of improved materials and package designs. Target applications of this low cost and reliable thermal packaging approach are high heat load electronics devices including high density microelectronics and power electronics such as T/R modules, power conditioning components for electric vehicles, high density CPUs for compact computers and high power laser diodes.
The broader impacts from this technology will be a thermal packaging approach which would offer a low cost and compact solution for thermal management of high heat load electronics including radar T/R modules, high power laser diodes, power conditioning electronics for electric vehicles and shipboard electric propulsion, high density CPUs for compact computers, and space-based electronics where compact heat rejection designs are critical. The solution is particularly attractive for devices based on the advanced capabilities of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors such as SiC and GaN. These devices offer much higher maximum temperature capabilities and can handle higher current loads and faster switching speeds. All of these attributes result in a 10x. 100x higher thermal load on the packaging making conventional packaging approaches that utilize heat spreaders and heat sinks obsolete.
