Performance Characteristics of a Variable Density Pin Array Micro-Heat Exchanger

The design, fabrication and preliminary performance of a variable density pin array micro heat exchanger for micro-cooling applications is reported. Various pin diameters and density configurations were analyzed for their ability to provide maximum uniform heat transfer over the active area of the micro-heat exchanger using air as the working fluid for maximum mass flow rates through the micro-heat exchanger in the range of 40 mg/sec to 60 mg/sec. Fabrication of the micro-heat exchanger was performed using deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) technique on a 0.5 mm thick silicon wafer with nominal feature sizes in the range of 5 microns to 20 microns. Performance data is presented based on analysis and comparison to a baseline configuration with no pins.