Chill and charge: A synergistic integration for future compact electronics

Modern electronics advance through high integration and increased power density, yet intricate thermal management techniques for high-power density chips limit the downsizing of device dimensions and increase power consumption. Here, we report an innovative integration of cooling and powering functionalities within electronic devices. Our approach involves the utilization of a vanadium-based electrolyte as an embedded cooling medium for high-power gallium nitride (GaN)-on-Si devices. The electrolyte serves a dual purpose by efficiently absorbing the heat generated by the electronics, thereby mitigating thermal concerns and exhibiting a temperature-elevated energy conversion efficiency of the flow battery. Experimental results validated the efficacy of embedded microfluidic cooling with the vanadium electrolyte, demonstrating significant heat flux extraction of 236 W/cm2 and highlighting a cooling coefficient of performance of 6.82 × 104 and an additional net power generation of 180.14 mW/cm2. This integrated approach synergistically improves cooling performance and power delivery capacity, presenting a promising avenue for high-power electronic applications.