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Micro-pump cooling devices (Image 2)
Brian D. Iverson, a mechanical engineering doctoral student at Purdue University, displays a disk containing several "micro-pump" cooling devices small enough to fit on a computer chip. The tiny pumps circulate coolant through channels etched into the chip.
The technology is an example of a microelectromechanical system, or MEMS--tiny mechanical devices fabricated using methods generally associated with microelectronics. Such innovative cooling systems will be a necessity for future computer chips because they will generate more heat, which could damage a device or hinder it's performance.
This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. To learn more, see the April 25, 2006, Purdue press release Here. (Date of Image: 2005) [See related image Here.]
Credit: Purdue University News Service photo by David Umberger
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