Vapour Chambers

Vapour chamber technology by Thermacore

Therma-Base™ or Vapour Chamber Technology

Therma-Base™ is a Thermacore implementation of Vapour Chamber technology - a two phase system similar to a heat pipe but working in a planar orientation rather than an axial one. A Therma-Base™ is generally used at the base of a heat sink to deliver far higher performance that would otherwise be achievable by alleviating the spreading resistance found in standard heat sinks. Therefore, devices cooled by a Therma-Base™ operate at a lower temperature and so benefit from extended longevity and reliability. 

In using enhanced wick structures, Therma-Base™ can effectively handle dense heat fluxes that normal heat sinks cannot.  In general, a normal heat sink will have a localised hot spot, but a Therma-Base™ will spread heat completely evenly across its area.  This allows for a far more even fin to air heat transfer, too that will allow for less aggressive and noisy fan choices.

Able to operate in in any orientation, the Therma-Base™ is an excellent and versatile heat spreader with a proven track record of reliability. 

  

  Therma-Base™ Advantages  

Therma-Base with patented Thru-hole    
  • Highest performing heat spreader in the industry (allows 3D heat spreading)
  • Effective thermal conductivity between 5,000 W/mK to 10,000 W/mK (vs. 401 W/mK pure copper and 1,200 W/mK graphite)
  • Application improvement of over 30% in high flux, poor spreading applications
  • Over 350 watts/cm2 heat flux capability
  • Can be engineered to withstand increase internal pressure (Working temperatures +150°C)
  • Patented Thru-Hole Technology allows both straight and threaded holes through the highly conductive vapor space region for ease in design of attachment hardware
  • Thermacore vapor chambers have been successfully thermally cycled from -40°C to +85°C
  • Thermacore has over 50,000 hours of vapor chamber on-going life testing
  • Thermacore has shipped over 500,000 vapor chamber heat sink assemblies  

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     CFD model of Therma-Base™                    CFD model of Therma-Base™

     Above left: All Copper Base Heat Sink = 0.423 °C/Watt
    Above right: CFD model of Therma-Base™ Heat Sink = 0.307 °C/Watt

       
    Applications
    • Computer CPU and GPU Cooling
    • Desktop, Server, and Mobile Computing
    • Military and Power Semi-conductor Cooling
    • IGBT’s, MOSFETS, SGT’s, Thyristers
    • Telecom Applications – RF Amplifiers
    • Low Profile Applications – Blade Servers
    • High Temperature Applications (>100°C)
    • High Structural Strength Applications
    • High Clamping Force Applications
    		 
    Vapour chamber illustration
    Micro Therma-Base™ 
    		  
    • Credit card thickness available in copper and titanium
    • Heat pipe thermal performance is 100 times better than same mass solid copper plate and 50 times better than same volume of solid copper plate
    • Operation insensitive to orientation and locations of the heat input and heat removal areas  
    		 
    Ultra thin Micro Therma-Base™
    		  

    Resources