Chips best served cool

Engineers at Purdue University have developed a tiny "micro-pump" cooling device small enough to fit on a computer chip that circulates coolant through channels etched into the chip.

The microelectromechanical (MEMS) device has been integrated onto a silicon chip that is about 1cm².

Current computer chips are cooled primarily with an assembly containing conventional fans and heat sinks. But because chips a decade from now will likely contain upwards of 100 times more transistors and other devices, they will generate far more heat than chips currently in use, Garimella said.

"Our goal is to develop advanced cooling systems that are self-contained on chips and are capable of handling the more extreme heating in future chips," said Suresh Garimella, director of Purdue's Cooling Technologies Research Center. The centre was formed to help corporations develop miniature cooling technologies for a wide range of applications, from electronics and computers to telecommunications and advanced aircraft.