Creating a miniature cooler for small electronics in confined spaces

In smartphones, augmented reality glasses, and other technology with artificial intelligence features, the small distributed electronic components — including memory, hard drives, and optical communication modules — generate a substantial amount of heat through their processing and data throughput. But existing cooling solutions like fans are too bulky and power-hungry to cool these compact edge devices, resulting in severe thermal challenges that degrade performance.

Sun et al. conceptualized and built a miniature, power-efficient micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) cooler capable of operating in confined spaces. The silicon-based piezoelectric jet pump cooler is quiet and small. It offers a high flow rate that is able to overcome the flow resistance in enclosed electronic systems to expel hot air. Because the device is silicon based, it can also be easily integrated into existing electronics.

“The significance of this work lies in providing a viable thermal management solution that mitigates the critical challenge of heat accumulation, which could unlock the performance potential of electronic systems,” said author Menglun Zhang. “Furthermore, this work could help transition the sizable air-cooling market toward a solid-state electronic paradigm, expanding the application boundaries of MEMS technology.”

Next, the authors plan to optimize the performance of the cooler by altering the design and materials. They also hope to work with potential users of this technology to meet the varying requirements of different applications.

“MEMS cooling is a very new direction, and the field currently lacks established application paradigms,” Zhang said. “For this highly promising field to develop substantively, close connections between the research side and the application sides must be established. We hope that potential users interested in this technology will reach out to discuss future possibilities.”

Source: “A backflow-suppressing piezoelectric MEMS cooler for thermal management within confined spaces,” by Mingchao Sun, Menglun Zhang, Xinhao Wang, Shaobo Gong, Danyang Zheng, Bohua Liu, Xuejiao Chen and Wei Pang, Nanotechnology and Precision Engineering (2026). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0336201 .