Chill out: Microchannels for two-phase cooling; ultra-fast heat transfer; low thermal resistance TIM.
Researchers from the University of Tokyo propose cooling chips using microchannels built into the chips themselves. The method utilizes microfluidic channels to create a capillary structure through which coolant flows and a manifold distribution layer that controls the distribution of coolant.
The structure enabled two-phase cooling through better management of the flow of vapor bubbles after heating. The measured ratio of useful cooling output to the required energy input, called the coefficient of performance (COP), reached up to 105, an efficiency enhancement compared to conventional techniques. “Thermal management of high-power electronic devices is crucial for the development of next-generation technology, and our design may open new avenues for achieving the cooling required,” said Masahiro Nomura, a professor at the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, in a statement. [1]
Engineers from the University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University, Kansas State University, and Pennsylvania State University discovered that hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) can be used to direct heat like a beam of light. Instead of slow-moving heat vibrations called phonons, the technique relies on hyperbolic phonon-polaritons (HPhPs), which can carry heat at high speeds.
Heating a tiny gold pad sitting on hBN excited the unique properties of the material, turning the heat energy into fast-moving polaritonic waves that instantly carried the heat away across and away from the interface between the gold and hBN.
“This method is incredibly fast,” said Will Hutchins, a mechanical and aerospace engineering Ph.D. candidate at UVA, in a press release. “We’re seeing heat move in ways that weren’t thought possible in solid materials. It’s a completely new way to control temperature at the nanoscale.” The team anticipates that the approach could prevent overheating of high-performance electronics. [2]
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Oregon State University developed a thermal interface material (TIM) with ultra-low thermal resistance, improved heat dissipation, and high reliability.
The TIM uses liquid-infused nanostructured composites comprising a mechanically soft and thermally conductive double-sided copper nanowire array scaffold infused with a customized thermal-bridge liquid that suppresses contact thermal resistance. The team tested the material at temperature ranges from -55 to 125 degrees Celsius for more than 1,000 cycles with no signs of performance degradation.
“This material solves a lot of existing challenges, and is ready to be used today,” said Sheng Shen, professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, in a release. “While an immediate need is focused on cooling data centers, the application for this innovation is extensive. It can break through in industries that have been stuck using outdated thermal interface materials. It can be used for pre-packaging, reworked when using non-adhesives, and enables thermal bonding of two substrates at room temperature.”
Several members of the team are commercializing the technology through the startup NovoLINC. [3]
[1] Shi, H., Grall, S., Yanagisawa, R., et al. Chip cooling with manifold-capillary structures enables 105 COP in two-phase systems. Cell Reports Physical Science, Volume 6, Issue 4, 102520 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102520
[2] Hutchins, W., Zare, S., Hirt, D.M. et al. Ultrafast evanescent heat transfer across solid interfaces via hyperbolic phonon–polariton modes in hexagonal boron nitride. Nat. Mater. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02154-5
[3] Cheng, R., Wang, Q., Wang, Z. et al. Liquid-infused nanostructured composite as a high-performance thermal interface material for effective cooling. Nat Commun 16, 794 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56163-8
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