Gte Laboratories Incorporated

Glenn A Duchene

Alfred H Bellows

Apparatus for cooling a semiconductor device by expansion cooling and/or evaporative cooling with a nontoxic gas includes a heat exchanger in thermal contact with the device to be cooled. A stream of expanding gas is released from a pressurized gas or liquid source through an expansion valve and is directed toward a heat exchange surface of the heat exchanger. The heat exchange surface includes fins which extend outwardly from the expansion valve and define grooves that direct the expanding gas over the heat exchange surface. The fins and grooves can be radial, spiral or branching for efficient thermal transfer. The grooves increase in cross-sectional area with radial distance from the expansion valve to accommodate the expanding gas volume. When a liquid is utilized, the liquid evaporates upon passing through the expansion valve, thereby providing both evaporative cooling and expansion cooling.

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Marlboro, MA, United States of America

Glenn A Duchene