Thermal Modular Design
Introduction
In the modern electronics and semiconductor industries, as chip computing power continues to increase rapidly—especially in AI servers and high-performance computing applications—the amount of heat generated by equipment is also rising dramatically. Thermal Module Design has become a key technology that determines system performance limits, operational stability, and product lifespan.
What Is Thermal Module Design?
A Thermal Module refers to an integrated device assembly used in a system or equipment to transfer heat from heat sources, such as CPUs, GPUs, and power components, to the surrounding environment.
Thermal Module Design is a multidisciplinary engineering process involving thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and materials science. Design engineers must develop a complete heat transfer path from the “heat source” to “heat dissipation” based on the system’s thermal design power (TDP), space limitations, environmental conditions, and noise requirements. The goal is to integrate various cooling components into a thermal module solution that is manufacturable, verifiable, and highly reliable.
Three Mainstream Technical Solutions for Thermal Module Design
As server power consumption continues to evolve, thermal module design has also developed into different technical approaches.
- Air Cooling
Air cooling is currently the most widely used and cost-effective cooling method. Its principle is to transfer heat from the heat source to the heatsink through thermal interface materials (TIM), heat pipes, or vapor chambers. Fans or blowers then generate airflow to remove the heat and discharge it from the system.
- Direct Liquid Cooling
When air cooling can no longer meet the requirements of high power density or strict noise limitations, liquid cooling becomes the preferred solution. This approach replaces air with coolant as the heat transfer medium and is typically combined with cold plates, coolant distribution units (CDUs), and related equipment.
Direct liquid cooling can be further divided into “liquid-to-air” solutions, where heat is released into the air, and “liquid-to-liquid” solutions, where heat is transferred through facility piping for centralized heat rejection.
- DI Water Two-Phase Cooling System
Our patented DI Water Two-Phase Cooling technology, known as W2PC, is an innovative solution developed for extreme thermal loads and green energy-saving requirements. This technology breaks through the limitations of traditional liquid cooling by using deionized water as the working fluid and combining it with a unique vacuum negative-pressure design to achieve efficient and environmentally friendly thermal management.
Custom Thermal Module Design
For each customer’s equipment, we provide customized thermal module design based on heat source power, space limitations, fluid paths, system architecture, and reliability requirements. By integrating cold plates, thermal conduction structures, flow channel design, thermal simulation, and validation processes, we deliver complete thermal solutions from concept design and prototype development to full system integration.
Selected Project Experience
- High-Density GPU Cooling:
Engineered a custom heatsink solution for a leading solution provider, overcoming thermal barriers to enable the seamless deployment of high-density 700W GPUs within existing air-cooled rack infrastructures.
- AI Robotic Demo Site:
Partnered with National Cheng Kung University (NCKU)’s Department of Mechanical Engineering to establish a state-of-the-art AI robotic demo site at the Macronix Building. Powered by high-performance GPU servers and CreAlien’s patented Water Two-Phase Cooling (W2PC) technology, the site achieves a groundbreaking Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.06.
- Smart Manufacturing Factory AI upgrade:
Delivered an end-to-end full-rack AI server solution to upgrade a manufacturing factory serving the semiconductor industry. By implementing AI techniques to monitor and optimize the welding process, the solution guarantees exceptional welding quality and throughput. Notably, the entire system was successfully engineered to maintain peak performance even in harsh 35°C environments.
Whether you are evaluating a new cooling concept, optimizing an existing design, or preparing a thermal solution for production, CreAlien can support your project throughout the development process. Contact us to discuss your requirements and explore the next steps for your application.