Abstract:
Due to the utilization of latent heat in the working fluid (the heat absorbed or released during phase transitions), phase change heat transfer technologies represented by heat pipes and vapor chambers (VCs) exhibit significantly higher heat transfer coefficients and cooling capabilities than pure conduction or convection. These technologies serve as key solutions to address the growing thermal management demands of electronic products.
With the continuous increase in chip power consumption and heat flux, the development and application of phase change heat transfer technologies (e.g., VCs) are crucial for determining the thermal reliability and performance upgrade potential of communication devices, highlighting their indispensable significance.
Thermal management is a critical component to ensure the long-term safe and reliable operation of electronic devices. As the most densely applied heat-generating components, chips have driven the development of thermal design into a systematic industry alongside advancements in communication and information technology. R&D in sectors such as power electronics, security, consumer electronics, automotive, and LED lighting increasingly emphasizes thermal performance, as effective cooling provides a competitive edge in the market.
Current 5G communication and information products are evolving toward higher capacity, better performance, energy efficiency, and low noise. The increasing integration of devices has led to more powerful single chips with drastically higher power consumption, while compact layouts have caused heat flux to rise exponentially, posing severe challenges to thermal management technologies.
Traditional cooling systems primarily rely on heat conduction in single-phase materials (materials composed of a single physical state or crystal structure), transferring heat from components to the heat sink surface, which is then dissipated via natural convection (passive cooling) or forced convection (active air cooling). The efficiency of heat conduction is determined by and limited to the inherent thermal conductivity of the materials.
In contrast, phase change heat transfer technologies represented by heat pipes and VCs (technologies that utilize the large heat absorption/release during phase transitions, such as liquid-gas conversion) achieve rapid heat diffusion through a cycle of working fluid evaporation in heated areas and condensation in cooled areas, absorbing and releasing latent heat alternately. The absorption and release of latent heat are rapid and efficient processes. By selecting working fluids with high latent heat for two-phase heat transfer, these technologies achieve extremely high heat transfer efficiency, with equivalent thermal conductivity exceeding 2000 W/m·K—far surpassing pure metals like gold, silver, copper, and aluminum (200–400 W/m·K). This enables them to meet the heat transfer demands of higher power consumption and heat flux that traditional heat sinks cannot satisfy. Additionally, they can be matched with various cooling sources (natural convection, forced air cooling, liquid cooling, radiation, etc.), offering flexible application forms.
