Summary and Prospects of Key Technologies in Chip Thermal Analysis

This paper systematically reviews the research progress in chip cooling technologies, focusing on the technical mechanisms, performance characteristics, and current applications of air cooling, microchannel cooling, and two-phase cooling. Air cooling remains the fundamental solution for high-power chip thermal management due to its well-established technology and cost-effectiveness. However, its cooling capacity is limited by the physical properties of air and convective heat transfer efficiency. Microchannel cooling significantly enhances heat transfer performance through microscale forced convection, and its compact structure and compatibility with chip integration make it a current research hotspot. Two-phase cooling leverages the latent heat of phase change to surpass the heat transfer limits of single-phase cooling; however, flow boiling instability leads to heat transfer deterioration and reliability issues, restricting its large-scale application. Additionally, this paper explores the optimization potential of bionic microchannels and intelligent microchannel technologies. The former optimizes thermal-fluid distribution through biomimetic topological structures, while the latter employs thermally responsive materials for dynamic heat dissipation control, offering novel approaches to overcoming existing technological bottlenecks. This review aims to systematically outline the evolution of thermal management technologies and provide a reference for innovative design and engineering optimization in chip thermal management.