Avram Bar-Cohen, Ph.D.
Program Manager, Microsystems Technology Office
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Thurs., Nov. 8th, 7:00 pm
Warnock Engineering Bldg. (WEB) 2230
Abstract:
Despite considerable R&D and on-going evolutionary improvements, the COTS “remote cooling” paradigm has resulted in only limited improvements in the thermal packaging of high-performance electronic systems during the past decade. Consequently, many commercial and military electronic systems are thermally-limited, performing well below the inherent electrical capability of the device technology they exploit. To overcome these limitations and remove a significant barrier to continued Moore’s Law progression in electronic components and systems, it is essential to “embed” aggressive thermal management in the chip, substrate, and/or package and directly cool the heat generation sites. The development of this “Gen3” thermal management technology, following on the Gen1 air-conditioning approaches of the early years and the decades-long commitment to the Gen2 “remote cooling” paradigm, is the focus of the current DARPA Intra/Inter Chip Enhanced Cooling (ICECool) thermal packaging program.
Following a brief review of the history of Thermal Packaging and the present State-of-the-Art, including recent results from the DARPA Thermal Management Technologies program, attention will turn to the development of embedded microfluidic thermal management technology. Consideration of the ways in which power delivery is integrated into the design, fabrication, and optimization of advanced electronic and photonic components can serve to inform and guide the articulation and implementation of the Gen3 embedded cooling paradigm. While the scientific and engineering foundation for the aggressive implementation of the “embedded cooling” paradigm exists, there are substantial microfabrication, thermofluid modeling, and multi-physics design challenges that must be overcome if Gen3 “embedded cooling” techniques are to supplant the current “remote cooling” paradigm.
Bio:
Dr. Avram Bar-Cohen is an internationally recognized leader in the development and application of thermal science and engineering to microelectronic and optoelectronic systems. In his role at DARPA and through his professional service in IEEE and ASME, he has defined and guided the field of thermal packaging and facilitated the emergence of high reliability consumer electronics, computing platforms, and microwave communication and radar systems. His research and publications, as well as short courses, tutorials, and keynote lectures, on air-cooled card cages and heat sinks, along with direct liquid cooling of microprocessors and RF components, have helped to create the scientific foundation for the thermal management of micro- and nanoelectronic components and systems. He is the sitting President of the Assembly for International Heat Transfer Conferences.