A researcher at the University of Texas at Dallas received a Young Faculty Award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to support his research on preventing overheating of 3D integrated circuits.
Dr. Xianming Dai, associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Eric Johnson School of Engineering and Computer Science, will receive up to $1 million in funding over three years. This grant funds outstanding early-career researchers whose innovations have the potential to enhance the capabilities of the Department of Defense and the Defense.
Current technology is approaching the limits of Moore's Law, which states that the number of transistors in a two-dimensional integrated circuit doubles every two years. A 2D chip consists of a layer of semiconductor material. The next generation of chips is made from multiple layers of semiconductor material stacked in a 3D package, showing great potential to provide faster computing power.
From left: Dr. Li Shan, research assistant, Dr. Dai Xianming, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Kuwin Wyke, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering, are members of the cooling technology team.
However, before the semiconductor industry can transition to 3D microsystems, new technologies are needed to cool integrated circuits. Stacking semiconductor chips is like multiple layers in a high-rise building, with each layer of chips generating a lot of heat.
In 3D microsystems, thermal management becomes a huge challenge because we need innovative designs to remove heat directly from each layer on a small scale," says Dai. "If we don't manage the heat, the temperature will rise and the life of the equipment will be shortened. In order to avoid overheating, only a small fraction of the computing power is currently used. ”
Dai is working on the integration of microfluidic evaporative cooling into 3D chip designs. The method involves embedding microchannels in an integrated circuit to direct fluid through each layer of the chip. The liquid then evaporates and takes away the heat, similar to how sweat evaporates, to help the body avoid overheating.
Liquid-vapor phase change heat transfer is a promising cooling solution," says Dai. "Over the past decade, our team has built a strong foundation for evaporative cooling. I'm glad it contributes to 3D microsystems. ”
The project will be supported by Dr. Rashaunda Henderson, Eugene McDermott Professor of Electrical Engineering, in the design and fabrication of multilayer chips. Henderson and her students have been working on the integration and packaging of high-frequency circuits for many years.
Liquid-vapor phase change heat transfer is a promising cooling solution. "Over the past decade, our team has built a strong foundation for evaporative cooling. I'm glad it contributes to 3D microsystems. Dr. Xianming Dai is an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Eric Johnson School of Engineering and Computer Science.
This research is important because 3D chip integration and packaging can improve performance while keeping the system solution in the smallest possible package," says Henderson. "Doctor. DAI is committed to exploring the overheating challenges associated with combining chips manufactured with different technologies, which will prove to advance thermal control in system design. ”
Dai is the head of the Bionic Thermofluids Laboratory at UTD, where he has conducted extensive research to develop evaporative cooling technology. His research has received several grants, including the 2021 Faculty Early Career Development Program Award from the National Academy of Sciences and the 2019 Office of Army Research Young Investigator Program Award. For his team's accomplishments, he received the Outstanding Early Career Award, the Microfluidics and Interfacial Phenomena Conference Award in 2021, and the Johnsson College Faculty Research Award in 2022.