Ion pump takes cooling to the microchip level

It may be a bit harder to show off than elaborate liquid cooling rigs, but researchers at the University of Washington have taken a big step towards keeping future computers cooler, if a bit less badass-looking. They've created a tiny ion pump that can fit directly on a computer chip, keeping it from overheating by using an electrical field to accelerate air to speeds previously only possible with traditional (and much larger) fans. In prototype form, the pump was able to cool down an actively heated surface using only 0.6 watts of power. While the tests have been successful so far, the researchers are still trying to determine the best way to make make devices that are both durable and high-performing. The most promising route so far? Why nanotechnology, of course -- the magic cure to all of mankind's problems.

[thexder @ Aug 25th 2006 4:23PM]

So they stuck an ionic breeze to a chip?

[iptydafu @ Aug 25th 2006 4:29PM]

So they slapped an ionic-breeze to the back of a dell?

[daddy_fizz @ Aug 25th 2006 4:58PM]

http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/article.asp?articleID=26374

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[Sam @ Aug 25th 2006 5:22PM]

you're not looking at the bigger picture here. with a technology like this, chip makers such as Intel and AMD can add hundreds of dollars to the price of their chips!

[Jonathan @ Aug 25th 2006 5:46PM]

"Intel and AMD can add hundreds of dollars to the price of their chips!"

My question: "So?" Don't buy it if you don't like it.

[Jack @ Aug 25th 2006 5:54PM]

While adding to the cost of the chip, you also don't have to buy that expensive and bulky fan or liquid cooling system. Smaller cases and cooler laptops.

[Tom @ Aug 25th 2006 6:24PM]

No more fan - just a headsink that accelerates air through itself. Now they just have to deal with the other part of the Ionic Breeze - that it attracts and captures dust. Where is the "easy clean filter" in my laptop?

[TheChosenOne @ Aug 25th 2006 10:15PM]

Mark, they are not etching this onto the silicon. And you're just babbling about the chip being hermetically sealed; what would that have to do with anything?

[Terry @ Aug 27th 2006 5:46AM]

As I recall, several years ago now, there was a "refrigeration" chip that was all the rage. It uses the Peltier Effect to creat a freezing cold surface on one side while the other gets VERY HOTand needed a heatsink with a fan to make it work. Not sure if they are still around, but used to see them at the "Computer Swapmeet" shows. I would guess the base component is still available at electronic stores or online for DIY'ers.

[macona @ Aug 28th 2006 3:08PM]

What I am not sure about though is that traditionally ion air pumping systems use on the order of thousands of volts DC to get air flowing. Plus it would be a certified dust magnet inside your computer as in the electrostatic dust percipitators on the market.

[Mark @ Aug 29th 2006 8:09PM]

Etching a "fan" right into the silicon sounds like a great idea. Dust won't be a problem as the chip is hermetically sealed into dust-free environment. The net heat flux still needs to be moved out of the package and case, but this should help designers to keep increasing device density.

[Mark @ Aug 29th 2006 8:58PM]

While the experimental setup pictured in the UW press release was meso-scale (note the alligator clip in the upper right of the pictures); the SEAL groups' Electrostatic Fluid Accelerator (EFA) research discusses the possibility of scaling down to MEMS sizes as well. See:
http://www.ee.washington.edu/research/seal/projects/EFAproject/mb&t.html
as well as section 4 of this thesis:
http://www.ee.washington.edu/research/seal/pubfiles/MSEE_Nels.pdf

Another comment expressed concern about an EFA "fan" becoming a dust collector. A MEMS scale EFA would not find any dust to collect because chips are manufactured, hermetically sealed and operate (at the micro-scale) in a dust-free environment.

Finally, there was concern about the high voltage levels necessary to operate an EFA. The above thesis says "At the micro-scale, it may be possible to generate a corona discharge at several tens of volts rather than the tens of kilovolts, which is required at the macro-scale." Timex Indiglo watch lights operate at 150V demonstrating that it's possible to create the necessary voltages in a small, inexpensive package using a watch battery's low voltage and with low current drain.