Design and Thermal Performance of Ultra-Thin Flat Plate Heat Pipes with Composite Wick for Electronic Cooling

Abstract The rapidly increasing heat load and high-density packaging of electronic devices demand heat dissipation devices that possess miniaturization and high thermal performance. A series of ultra-thin flat plate heat pipes (UPHPs) with thicknesses of 1.2 mm was prepared to satisfy this demand. Strengthening rib optimization and capillary optimization were processed to restrict the entrainment limit and capillary limit of the UPHPs. Furthermore, surface modification technology with composite nanostructure coated was introduced to improve the surface wettability of capillary wick. Finally, the heat transfer capacity of the UPHPs was experimentally tested. The influence of capillary structure and liquid filling ratio on the heat transfer characteristic was investigated in detail. This work provides insight into the design and application of UPHPs for the new generation of electronic devices.