Techniques for implementing a synthetic jet to cool a device

1. A mobile device, comprising:

a synthetic jet embedded in a circuit board inside the mobile device, wherein the circuit board comprises:

at least a portion of a chamber of the synthetic jet, and

an orifice of the synthetic jet;

a case of the mobile device in contact with at least one channel inside the mobile device; and

an application-specific integrated circuit configured to receive a skin temperature of the case and actuate the synthetic jet to direct a fluid at the at least one channel from a synthetic jet outlet of the synthetic jet if the skin temperature is greater than a skin temperature threshold.

2. The mobile device of claim 1 , further comprising a frame adjacent to the case of the mobile device, wherein the synthetic jet outlet is aimed at a cavity that is at least partially defined by the frame.

3. The mobile device of claim 1 , further comprising:

a frame adjacent to the case; and

an integrated circuit,

wherein:

the circuit board and the frame define a cavity configured to direct the fluid adjacent to the integrated circuit, and

the integrated circuit is located at least in part in at least a portion of the cavity.

4. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one channel is substantially coplanar with the circuit board.

5. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the synthetic jet includes at least one piezoelectric diaphragm.

6. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the application-specific integrated circuit is configured to actuate the synthetic jet by varying a frequency of an AC voltage applied to the synthetic jet.

7. A method for controlling a synthetic jet, comprising

receiving case temperature data indicating a skin temperature of a case; and

initiating, if the skin temperature is greater than a skin temperature threshold, applying a control voltage to actuate the synthetic jet.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising reducing, if the skin temperature is greater than the skin temperature threshold, a clock frequency applied in an integrated circuit.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

receiving junction temperature data indicating a junction temperature of an integrated circuit located in the case; and

reducing, if the junction temperature is greater than a junction temperature threshold, a clock frequency applied in the integrated circuit.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the case temperature data indicates the skin temperature of at least one of the exterior of the case, the interior of the case, and a portion of the case that defines a channel through which the synthetic jet is configured to pass a fluid.

11. An apparatus configured to control a synthetic jet, comprising:

means for receiving case temperature data indicating a skin temperature of a case; and

means for initiating, if the skin temperature is greater than the skin temperature threshold, applying a control voltage to actuate the synthetic jet.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising means for reducing, if the skin temperature is greater than the skin temperature threshold, a clock frequency applied in an integrated circuit.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising:

means for receiving junction temperature data indicating a junction temperature of an integrated circuit located in the case; and

means for reducing, if the junction temperature is greater than a junction temperature threshold, a clock frequency applied in the integrated circuit.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the case temperature data indicates the skin temperature of at least one of the exterior of the case, the interior of the case, and a portion of the case that defines a channel through which the synthetic jet is configured to pass a fluid.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein at least a part of the means for initiating applying the control voltage to actuate the synthetic jet is integrated on a semiconductor die.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising at least one of a mobile device, a terminal, a music player, a video player, an entertainment unit, a navigation device, a communications device, a personal digital assistant, a fixed location data unit, a tablet, and a computer, of which the means for initiating applying the control voltage to actuate the synthetic jet is a constituent part.

17. An apparatus configured to control a synthetic jet, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to cause the processor to:

receive case temperature data indicating a skin temperature of a case; and

initiate, if the skin temperature is greater than a skin temperature threshold, applying a control voltage to actuate the synthetic jet.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the memory is further configured to cause the processor to reduce, if the skin temperature is greater than the skin temperature threshold, a clock frequency applied in an integrated circuit.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the memory is further configured to cause the processor to:

receive junction temperature data indicating a junction temperature of an integrated circuit located in the case; and

reduce, if the junction temperature is greater than a junction temperature threshold, a clock frequency applied in the integrated circuit.

20. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the case temperature data indicates the skin temperature of at least one of the exterior of the case, the interior of the case, and a portion of the case that defines a channel through which the synthetic jet is configured to pass a fluid.

21. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein at least a part of the processor is integrated on a semiconductor die.

22. The apparatus of claim 17 , further comprising at least one of a mobile device, a terminal, a music player, a video player, an entertainment unit, a navigation device, a communications device, a personal digital assistant, a fixed location data unit, a tablet, and a computer, with which the processor is integrated.

23. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the processor is at least one of a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, a programmable logic device, an application-specific integrated circuit, a controller, a non-generic special-purpose processor, a state machine, gated logic, a discrete hardware component, and a dedicated hardware finite state machine.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising processor-executable instructions stored thereon configured to cause a processor to:

receive case temperature data indicating a skin temperature of a case; and

initiate, if the skin temperature is greater than a skin temperature threshold, applying a control voltage to actuate the synthetic jet.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the processor-executable instructions further include instructions to cause the processor to reduce, if the skin temperature is greater than the skin temperature threshold, a clock frequency applied in an integrated circuit.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the processor-executable instructions further include instructions to cause the processor to:

receive junction temperature data indicating a junction temperature of an integrated circuit located in the case; and

reduce, if the junction temperature is greater than a junction temperature threshold, a clock frequency applied in the integrated circuit.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the case temperature data indicates the skin temperature of at least one of the exterior of the case, the interior of the case, and a portion of the case that defines a channel through which the synthetic jet is configured to pass a fluid.