Microfluidic Refrigerant Compression and Pumping by Maxwell Pressure Generated at a Nanoporous Monolith

We introduce a new concept in miniature two-phase cooling with ammonia and other refrigerants. Despite its high heat removal rate density, two-phase cooling has not been attempted for miniature electronic cooling because of the high pressure needed to compress the vapor phase into liquid. We suggest in this short expository that Maxwell pressure generated by an intense DC or AC field across a solid nanoporous monolith can overcome this challenge. The fundamental mechanisms for such miniature pressure source are reviewed and the fabrication challenges discussed.