Cooling device

1. An impingement cooling device comprising:

at least a first level structure adjacent an impingement gap, the impingement gap being located between the cooling device and at least one heat source to be cooled, the first level structure comprising:

a layer of substantially parallel inlets and outlets in a distributed array adjacent the impingement gap for supplying and removing fluid for impinging directly on at least one surface of the heat source, wherein outlet diameters are 25-30% larger than inlet diameters,

a channel layer of interdigitated branched channels to supply the inlets with a fluid and drain the outlets of the fluid, said channels being formed by at least one lateral wall separating inlet and outlet paths in the channel layer; and

a second level structure in contact with the first level structure, wherein the second level structure comprises a scaled replica of the first level structure, wherein the second level structure is larger than the first level structure by a predetermined factor selected to optimize fluid flow.

2. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising additional hierarchical level structures in contact with previous level structures, wherein each additional level structure comprises a scaled replica of the previous level enlarged by the predetermined factor.

3. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the layer of interdigitated input channels and output channels comprises a separation wall forming interlocking digits.

4. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the predetermined enlargement factor ranges from 5-15.

5. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the inlets and outlets of at least one layer are cylindrical.

6. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the inlets and outlets of at least one layer comprise slots.

7. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the distributed array has a face centered square pattern of inlets and outlets.

8. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 1 additionally comprising surface enhancement features positioned within the impingement gap attached to at least one of the first level and a heated body, wherein the surface enhancement features comprise a plurality of protrusions.

9. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein said surface enhancement features comprise a plurality of protrusions each having a diamond-shaped form, regularly positioned between inlets and outlets of the first level, whereby the plurality of protrusions directs flow away from stagnation zones.

10. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 9 , wherein said surface enhancement features further comprise barrier features regularly positioned along diagonals joining the inlets and outlets of the first level.

11. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein said surface enhancement features comprise a plurality of linear parallel protrusions positioned diagonally such that inlets and outlets of the first level are alternately located in a linear gap between the protrusions.

12. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 11 , wherein said linear parallel protrusions are attached between the first level and the heated body, and modified to form a plurality of microchannels each joining a single inlet and a single outlet.

13. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 12 , having a first group of microchannels supplied and drained from a primary channel loop and a second group of microchannels supplied and drained from a secondary channel loop, wherein flow through the first loop is independent of flow through the second loops.

14. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the microchannels of the first group and the microchannels of the second group are positioned substantially alternately within the distributed array.

15. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 11 , wherein said surface enhancement features further comprise barrier features regularly positioned between the inlets and outlets of the first level in the linear gaps.

16. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 15 , wherein each barrier feature is sub-divided into a plurality of barriers positioned substantially along lines of flow.

17. The impingement cooling device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein said surface enhancement features comprise a plurality of chevron-form protrusions positioned such that inlets and outlets of the first level are alternately located in a chevron-form gap between the protrusions.

18. A cooling system comprising:

an impingement cooling device comprising:

at least a first level structure adjacent an impingement gap, the first level structure comprising:

a layer of substantially parallel inlets and outlets in a distributed array adjacent the impingement gap for supplying and removing fluid for impinging directly on the surface of the component to be cooled, wherein outlet diameters are 25-30% larger than inlet diameters, and

a channel layer of interdigitated branched channels to supply the inlets with a fluid and drain the outlets of the fluid, said channels being formed by at least one lateral wall separating inlet and outlet paths in the channel layer,

a second level structure in contact with the first level structure, wherein the second level structure comprises a scaled replica of the first level structure, wherein the second level structure is larger than the first level structure by a predetermined factor selected to optimize fluid flow; and

a microprocessor chip positioned adjacent the impingement cooling device, wherein the impingement gap is between the impingement cooling device and the microprocessor chip allowing fluid to impinge directly on at least one surface of the microprocessor chip.

19. A method for transferring heat away from a heat source, the method comprising the steps of:

providing an impingement cooling device in thermal contact with the heat source, said impingement cooling device comprising at least a first level structure adjacent an impingement gap, the impingement gap being located between the cooling device and the heat source, the first level structure comprising a layer of inlets and outlets in a distributed array adjacent the impingement gap for supplying and removing fluid for impinging directly on at least one surface of the heat source, and a channel layer of interdigitated branched channels to supply the inlets with a fluid and drain the outlets of the fluid, said channels being formed by at least one lateral wall separating inlet and outlet paths in the channel layer; and a second level structure in contact with the first level structure, wherein the second level structure comprises a scaled replica of the first level structure, wherein the second level structure is larger than the first level structure by a predetermined factor selected to optimize fluid flow; and

impinging coolant fluid through the impingement cooling device and onto the heat source via the impingement gap, resulting in a minimal coolant fluid pressure drop across the impingement cooling device.