SiC Microchannel Heat Sinks for High Heat Flux Dissipation of 1 kW/cm2

Thermal management has become a major barrier in the development of high-power microdevices. Microchannel heat sinks (MCHSs) are a promising method to dissipate high heat fluxes from high-power-density devices. Reducing the thermal resistance will reduce the temperature increase in the electronic device, allowing for higher powers to be achieved while maintaining a safe operating temperature. This article reports on the use of silicon carbide (SiC) microchannels to dissipate high heat fluxes up to 1 kW/cm
²
over a footprint of 0.25 cm
²
. The use of a high aspect ratio and decreased hydraulic diameter channels has allowed for very low thermal resistances to be achieved at higher heat duties compared to previous studies. The experiments performed resulted in heater temperatures of less than 60 °C and thermal resistances as low as 0.024 cm
$^{2}\cdot ^{\circ }\text{C}$
/W between the heater surface and the fluid inlet temperature. The demonstrated thermal performance of the SiC MCHS is an encouraging means for dissipating heat from high-power-density microelectronic devices.