Grant: Idea to Innovation

High temperatures cause most failures in electronics. As emerging technologies shift to ultrathin and wireless connectivity, there is a critical need for compatible efficient cooling solutions. Passive solutions like off-the-shelf heat pipes are promising, but their bulky metallic construction heavily limits their application. This project aims to accelerate the development of a novel pre-market ultrathin ceramic heat pipe prototype (~ 1 mm thickness), which will play a critical role in cooling emerging technologies. The proposed ceramic-based heat pipe is dielectric and has minimal impact on radio frequency and other wireless signals. It can also work in harsh and corrosive high-temperature environments, which makes this technology a great candidate for a variety of energy and telecom systems. We target emerging technologies such as wearables and augmented/virtual reality headsets, among other technologies such as battery chargers, high-power power electronics, satellites, and telecom systems. The ceramic heat pipe prototype is based on our patent application, "Elastic heat pipe," U.S. Patent Application Number: 63/399,864, filed on August 22, 2022. This project benefits from the participation of three prominent industrial partners: Delta-Q Technologies, Electronic Products, Inc., and Meta (Reality Labs). It will further our intellectual property and accelerate its market introduction, bolstering Canada's standing in the fast-growing wireless electronics, wearables, and power-electronics cooling market.