Immersion cooling with water-based fluid using nano-structured coating
A method includes coating, via chemical vapor deposition, electronics disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB) with an electrical insulation coating of between one micron to 25 microns. The method further include depositing, on the electrical insulation coating, a metallic nano-layer comprising a porous metallic nano-structure. The method further includes, after the coating and the depositing, immersing the PCB in a water-based fluid to cool the electronics while the electronics are powered on.
1. A method comprising:
coating, via chemical vapor deposition, one or more power electronic components disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB) with an electrical insulation coating of between two to 25 microns in thickness, the electrical insulation coating covering an outside and top portion of the one or more power electronic components relative to the PCB;
depositing, on the electrical insulation coating, a nano-layer comprising a porous metal-based nano-structure; and
after the coating and the depositing, immersing the PCB in a water-based fluid to cool the one or more power electronic components while the one or more power electronic components are powered on and from the outside and top portion of the one or more power electronic components.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrical insulation coating comprises a Parylene-based compound.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the porous metal-based nano-structure comprises one of copper or copper oxide.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water-based fluid comprises one of deionized water or a mixture of water and ethylene glycol.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding, to the water-based fluid, a non-ionic surfactant.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the depositing comprises performing cathodic deposition of the porous metal-based nano-structure, wherein the nano-layer is a super-hydrophilic nucleating coating.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more power electronic components include a bottom-cooled power transistor device having at least one thermal pad disposed on a back of the PCB opposite from the bottom-cooled power transistor device, the method further comprising:
forming through-hole vias within the PCB to drive heat from the bottom-cooled power transistor device to the at least one thermal pad; and
wherein the coating and depositing are performed on both sides of the PCB.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the immersing the PCB in the water-based fluid comprises one of immersion that relies on passive return of condensed water and immersion performed via injected fluid from a central cooling loop.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein coating the one or more power electronic components with electrical insulation coating includes coating the PCB with the electrical insulation coating.