Single- and two-phase heat exchangers for power electronic components

Experiments were performed to assess the Feasibility of single-phase and tw o-phase micro heat sinks applied to the cooling of power components. After a brief recall of the principal characteristics of a power component (IGBT, Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), experimental measurements are describe d for multichip modules cooled by single-phase or two-phase hear sinks mach ined in a piece of copper. The former is composed of rectangular microchann els, the second is composed of circular minichannels. Both offer very high cooling capabilities. Then, a comparison of performance is presented. (C) 2 000 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.