The simplicity and cost-effectiveness of air-cooled heat sinks, continue to expand the design space for this most ubiquitous of all thermal managment hardware in the electronic industry. When attached to modules, chip packages, or directly to chips, heat sinks can enhance hoth the reliability and functional performance of electronic, telefcommunication, and power conversion systems. However, raplidly increasing chip power dissipation and concerns over weight, cost, acoustic noise, and "time-to-market", are constraining the successful application of these thermal devices. Greater attention to the underlying thermal, fluid, and structural interactions, as well as an appreciation for the cost and limits of available materials and fabrication processes, will be needed to maintain the viability of this cooling technique.
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