Ionic Wind more efficient at computer cooling

Link: Ionic Wind more efficient at computer cooling
Filed under: Telecoms News, Hardware News

Researchers in the US have developed ‘ionic wind’ technology which is significantly more efficient than traditional fan cooling mechanisms and could facilitate the growth in computer power.

A prototype ionic wind device has been developed which creates a ‘breeze’ of charged particles, or ions, to cool computer chips.

Computers are becoming both smaller and more powerful, with chips becoming more and more densely packed with transistors. Traditional cooling with fans is relatively inefficient because of air-flow problems.

As a fan blows air over a chip the molecules nearest to the chip can remain stationery, reducing the cooling effect precisely where it is needed most - on the chip’s hot surface.

However the ionic wind engine works by moving charged particles from one end of the device to the other.

Voltage is applied to the ionic engine to produce positively charged particles which are then dragged towards a negatively charged wire (a cathode). This technique creates constant air movement.

When Ionic wind is used in conjunction with a fan air molecules are prevented from ’sticking’. The system ensures they are pulled across the hot surface of the chip, increasing cooling efficiency by up to 250% compared with a fan-only system.

Further development is required before the technique can be used in consumer electronic devices. The prototype will need to be 100 times smaller than its current size, reducing the dimensions from millimetres to microns.

The research was a joint project between Purdue University, in Indiana, and chip-manufacturer Intel. It will be published in the September 1 Journal of Applied Physics.