IBM's Newest Cooling Technology
Claiming up to twice the performance of current standard CPU coolers, IBM has given us a glimpse of their latest cooling technology. The technology concerns the layer of thermally conductive paste between the chip and the heatsink. Taking inspiration from nature, IBM has developed a unique surface design with a series of branched channels on its surface, in order to equally disperse the thermal paste when pressure is applied. As well as this approach, IBM is also developing another new technique called "direct jet impingement", which is a new type of water cooling system.
"The team has demonstrated cooling power densities of up to 370 Watts per square centimeter with water as coolant, more than six times beyond the current limits of air-cooling techniques at about 75 Watts per square centimeter. Yet, the system uses much less energy for pumping than other cooling systems do, the researcher said. However, this system is several years away from industrial use."
