Solid-state cooling device harnesses corona discharge

Thorrn Micro Technologies has demonstrated a small, silent, no-moving-parts cooling device that generates more airflow than mechanical fans four times its size while consuming less power and space. The 15×15× 2-mm RSD5 creates a breeze of 2.4m/sec, outperforming the 1.7m/sec that a mechanical fan measuring 40×40×10 mm can produce, according to the company.

The product of six years of National Science Foundation-funded research, the technology nestles live wires within half-cylinder beds that the company carves into a nonconducting plate. Application of a voltage through the wires causes a corona discharge, creating a microscale plasma. Free ions in the plasma then migrate from the wires to the plate, displacing air molecules as they go and generating a sustained wind.

Thorrn’s innovation lies in the structure that channels the airflow effectively enough to cool a 25W chip with a device smaller than 1 cm³ without risk of sparks or arcing. In the company’s current design, the contoured plate resides atop a heat sink, but plans call for integrating the technology directly onto ICs.