Integrated micro-heat-pipe fabrication technology

Man Lee, Man Wong, Yitshak Zohar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper presents the design and fabrication of an integrated micro-heat-pipe system consisting of a heater, an array of heat pipes, temperature and capacitive sensors. Taking advantage of the large difference between the dielectric constants of liquid and vapor, the integrated capacitor can be used for void-fraction measurements in two-phase flows. Both CMOS-compatible and glass-based fabrication technologies are reported. In the CMOS-compatible technology, the heat pipes are capped by a thin nitride layer utilizing wafer bonding and etch back technique. In the glass-based technology, the heat pipes are covered by a glass substrate using die-by-die anodic bonding to allow visualization of the two-phase flow patterns. This approach also results in a significant reduction of the parasitic capacitance, thus enhancing the sensitivity of the capacitance sensor. A few particular problems related to this technology are discussed and proper solutions are proposed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)138-146
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Microelectromechanical Systems
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2003
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • CMOS-compatible technology
  • Capacitive microsensors
  • Glass-based technology
  • Micro-heat-pipe
  • Void fraction measurements

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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