The present disclosure generally relates to the field of heat dissipation. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a vapor chamber.
In the face of modernization, computers and various other electronic devices have seen rapid developments and improved performance. However, along with these improvements, heat dissipation has become one of the major problems faced by high performance hardware today. Typically, computers and electronic devices employ heat dissipating components to help dissipate heat away. For example, a heat dissipating gel or a heat dissipating sheet can be attached onto an electronic component that is subjected to heat dissipation in order to absorb and disperse heat. However, this type of heat dissipation has limited effect. As a result, phase changes of a working fluid have thus been taken advantage of so as to promote heat transfer of the heat dissipating components.
Heat transfer is achieved in the above heat dissipating components through phase changes and the direction of the flow of the working fluid. For example, the direction of the flow of a working fluid on capillary structures is opposite to the direction of a vapor flow formed from the working fluid that has been turned into vapors, and the directions of the flows form a circulating loop. However, in the existing heat dissipating components, the working fluid and the vapor flow flowing in the same channel space tend to interfere with each other. For example, when the shear stress of the vapor flow is larger than the surface tension of the working fluid, working fluid at the interface may become scattered, or the working fluid may even flow in reverse as it is accompanied by the vapor flow, resulting in poor heat transfer efficiency.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a vapor chamber that effectively addresses the aforementioned shortcomings of the prior art.
An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a vapor chamber defined with an evaporation area corresponding to a heat source and at least one condensation area, the vapor chamber including: a first substrate; a diversion layer disposed on the first substrate and having a plurality of first openings and a plurality of second openings, wherein locations of the plurality of first openings correspond to the evaporation area and the condensation area, locations of the plurality of second openings do not correspond to the evaporation area and the condensation area, and a size of the plurality of first openings is different from a size of the plurality of second openings; a plurality of liquid passages formed between the first substrate and the diversion layer; and a second substrate disposed above the diversion layer to form air flow channels between the diversion layer and the second substrate.
In the vapor chamber above, a density of the plurality of first openings is greater than a density of the plurality of second openings.
In the vapor chamber above, a ratio of an aperture of each of the plurality of first openings to an interval between the plurality of first openings is 1:1.
In the vapor chamber above, a ratio of an aperture of each of the plurality of second openings to an interval between the plurality of second openings ranges from 1:2 to 1:4.
In the vapor chamber above, the size of the plurality of first openings is greater than the size of the plurality of second openings.
In the vapor chamber above, an aperture of the plurality of first openings ranges from 0.01 mm to 0.3 mm, and an aperture of the plurality of second openings ranges from 0.005 mm to 0.2 mm.
In the vapor chamber above, the plurality of liquid passages are a plurality of grooves recessed into a surface of the first substrate, or a particle-sintered mass, a metal mesh or a combination of the above.
In the vapor chamber above, a width of each of the plurality of grooves ranges from 0.03 mm to 0.3 mm, and wherein a depth of each of the plurality of grooves ranges from 0.01 mm to 0.15 mm.
In the vapor chamber above, the plurality of grooves are formed by wet etching.
In the vapor chamber above, the plurality of grooves have elongated, curved, square or directional shapes.
In the vapor chamber above, the directional shape includes a width of a portion corresponding to the condensation area being greater than a width of a portion corresponding to the evaporation area.
In the vapor chamber above, a thickness of the diversion layer ranges from 0.005 mm to 0.05 mm.
The vapor chamber above further includes at least one thin film layer with a plurality of through holes and disposed between the diversion layer and the first substrate, wherein a size of the plurality of through holes corresponding to the locations of the plurality of first openings is greater than the size of the corresponding plurality of first openings.
The vapor chamber above further includes a plurality of thin film layers stacked one on top of another between the first substrate and the diversion layer, wherein the plurality of thin film layers each includes a plurality of through holes, and the plurality of through holes of one of the plurality of thin film layers are not entirely in alignment with the plurality of through holes of another one of the plurality of thin film layers.
In the vapor chamber above, the plurality of through holes are crisscross-shaped, triangular, star-shaped, regular polygonal or irregular polygonal.
The vapor chamber above further includes at least one thin film layer disposed between the diversion layer and the second substrate and in contact with the diversion layer and the second substrate, wherein the air flow channels are provided within the thin film layer.
The vapor chamber above further includes a working fluid filled in the plurality of liquid passages, wherein the working fluid absorbs heat from the heat source and then vaporizes in the evaporation area, the vaporized working fluid then passes through each of the first openings corresponding to the evaporation area and moves along the air flow channels to the condensation area, the working fluid then condenses and liquefies in the condensation area, and the liquefied working fluid passes through each of the first openings corresponding to the condensation area and flows along the plurality of liquid passages to return to the evaporation area.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated with specific implementations. Other advantages and technical effects of the present disclosure can be readily understood by one with ordinary skills in the art upon reading the disclosure provided herein, and can be used or applied in other different implementations.
Referring to
A plurality of liquid passages 114 can be formed between the first substrate 11 and the diversion layer 12 to be filled with the working fluid 14. In an embodiment, the liquid passages 114 can be formed from a particle-sintered mass, a metal mesh, grooves or a combination of the above, wherein the particle-sintered mass refers to constructions or structures with multiple capillary holes or interconnected holes formed by sintering of metal powder, and the metal mesh refers to a mesh with multiples openings woven using metal. In addition, as shown in
In an embodiment, the width of the grooves (i.e., the gaps between the columns 115) ranges from 0.03 mm to 0.3 mm, and the depth of the grooves (i.e., the height of each of the columns 115 or the depth from the surface of the first substrate 11) ranges from 0.01 mm to 0.15 mm. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these, and the present disclosure does not limit the number of grooves (i.e., the number of columns).
In another embodiment, depending on the needs, the vapor chamber 1 of the present disclosure may simultaneously include grooves of different widths and depths. For example, the majority of the grooves have a smaller width (e.g., between 0.05 and 0.1 mm), while one particular groove has a larger width (e.g., between 0.1 and 0.5 mm), so that the larger-width groove can accommodate more working fluid 14, while the smaller-width grooves can be used to provide greater capillary forces, improving transmission performance. As shown in
In yet another embodiment, the widths and depths of the grooves may vary depending on the total thickness of the first substrate 11. For example, when the total thickness of the first substrate 11 is between 0.05 mm and 0.1 mm, the width of the grooves may be between 0.05 mm and 0.2 mm, and the depth may be between 0.03 mm and 0.08 mm. When the total thickness of the first substrate 11 is between 0.12 mm and 0.2 mm, the width of the grooves may be between 0.08 mm and 0.3 mm, and the depth may be between 0.05 mm and 0.15 mm. When the total thickness of the first substrate 11 is between 0.02 mm and 0.05 mm, the width of the grooves may be between 0.03 mm and 0.1 mm, and the depth may be between 0.01 mm and 0.04 mm. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the aforementioned ranges of the total thicknesses of the first substrate 11 and the widths and depths of the grooves.
In still another embodiment, the liquid passages 114 may be realized in different embodiments. As shown in
The diversion layer 12 is provided on the first substrate 11 and the liquid passages 114 and includes a plurality of first openings 121 and a plurality of second openings 122. The first openings 121 and the second openings 122 both penetrate through the two surfaces of the diversion layer 12. In an embodiment, the first openings 121 and the second openings 122 are formed by processes such as etching, laser engraving, stamping, etc., such that the diversion layer 12 is formed into a meshed structure, but the present disclosure is not limited as such. Moreover, the locations of the first openings 121 correspond to the evaporation area 111 and the condensation area 112, whereas the locations of the second openings 122 correspond to the heat insulation area 113, in other words, the second openings 122 are not located in the evaporation area 111 and the condensation area 112. Furthermore, the size (aperture) of the first openings 121 is different from the size (aperture) of the second openings 122.
In an embodiment, the size (aperture) of the first openings 121 is greater than the size (aperture) of the second openings 122. For example, the aperture of the first openings 121 may range from 0.01 mm to 0.3 mm, and the aperture of the second openings 122 may range from 0.005 mm to 0.2 mm, such that the first openings 121 are air and water permeable, whereas the second openings 122 are air permeable but not water permeable. However, the present disclosure is not limited as such. In addition, the thickness of the diversion layer 12 may range from 0.005 mm to 0.05 mm, preferably less than 0.025 mm, but the present disclosure is not limited to these.
In an embodiment, the density of the first openings 121 on the first substrate 11 can be greater than the density of the second openings 122 on the first substrate 11. For example, the density of the first openings 121 corresponding to the evaporation area 111 can be greater than the density of the second openings 122 corresponding to the heat insulation area 113. Furthermore, the densities of the first openings 121 corresponding to the evaporation area 111 and the condensation area 112 can both be greater than the density of the second openings 122 corresponding to the heat insulation area 113, or the density of the first openings 121 corresponding to only one of the evaporation area 111 and the condensation area 112 is greater than the density of the second openings 122 corresponding to the heat insulation area 113, and the present disclosure is not limited as such.
Referring to
Referring to
The second substrate 13 is disposed on the diversion layer 12, and a plurality of support columns 132 are formed on an inner surface 133 of the second substrate 13, such that air flow channels 131 are formed between each of the support columns 132 of the second substrate 13 and the diversion layer 12. In an embodiment, as shown in
In an embodiment, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 13 can be made of metals with high thermal conductivity, such as copper, silver, aluminum, steel, titanium or alloys thereof, stainless steel, etc., and the diversion layer 12 can be made of a material with high temperature resistance, such as pure copper, copper alloy, graphite, etc., and the present disclosure is not limited as such. For example, the first substrate 11, the second substrate 13 and the diversion layer 12 can all be made of copper, and can also be formed into a mass by sintering.
When the vapor chamber 1 of the present disclosure is in use, as shown in
In an embodiment, depending on usage, there can be one or more condensation areas 112, and the number of evaporation areas 111 can be determined based on the number of heat sources 2 as long as there are liquid passages 114 and air flow channels 131 interconnecting the condensation area 112(s) and the evaporation area(s) 111, and the present disclosure is not limited as such.
Referring to
Referring to
In the above embodiment, the through holes 161, 171 can be formed by etching, laser engraving, stamping, or the like. The apertures of the through holes 161, 171 are greater than that of the first openings 121, and the apertures of the through holes 161, 171 can be the same, or the aperture of the through holes 171 can be greater than that of the through holes 161, and the present disclosure is not limited as such.
In the above embodiment, the through holes 161, 171 are shown in crisscross shapes, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, the through holes 161, 171 may also be triangular, star-shaped, regular polygonal or irregular polygonal.
Referring to
The present disclosure is not limited to the above.
In an embodiment, there can be just one or a plurality of thin film layer(s) 18, and the present disclosure is not limited as such. In an embodiment where there are a plurality of the thin film layers 18, the air flow channels 181 can be formed from through holes in the plurality of thin film layers 18 interconnecting to one another. In addition, the vapor chamber 1 of the present disclosure from the embodiments illustrated in
The design of the diversion layer 12 in the vapor chamber 1 described in the various embodiments of the present disclosure above allows the thickness of the vapor chamber 1 to be reduced to less than 0.25 mm, preferably less than 0.2 mm, but the present disclosure is not limited as such.
Since the diversion layer in the vapor chamber of the present disclosure is configured with openings of different sizes, working fluids can effectively flow in the liquid passages and the air flow channels separately without interfering each other. More specifically, by providing first openings with larger apertures or higher density in the evaporation area and the condensation area, vaporized or liquefied working fluids are allowed to pass through the first openings. On the other hand, providing second openings with smaller apertures or lower density in the non-evaporation area and the non-condensation area, vaporized or liquefied working fluids are prevented from passing through the second openings. As such, isolation and heat transfer efficiency can be improved, such that the non-evaporation area and the non-condensation area approximate the theoretical heat insulation area. Moreover, the diversion layer is directly disposed on the liquid passages. This not only allows grooves of a smaller size to be provided (producing greater capillary forces), but also prevents excessive amount of working fluids to be removed during a vacuum pumping stage, thereby increasing practicality.
The above embodiments are merely provided for illustrating the principles of the present disclosure and its technical effect, and should not be construed as to limit the present disclosure in any way. The above embodiments can be modified by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope claimed of the present disclosure should be defined by the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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109123062 | Jul 2020 | TW | national |