Advances in fabrication methods in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have generated significant interest in the area of microscale heat transfer and fluid flow. Microchannel heat exchangers can dissipate high heat fluxes which make them well suited for a wide variety of unique cooling applications. Microchannels can also be integrated directly within the heat generating component; thus, the thermal contact resistance at the interface of a heat-generating component and heat sink is eliminated. This feature leads to lower substrate temperatures and smaller temperature gradients that make microchannels attractive for microelectronics cooling applications (1). In addition, microchannels are being used in other applications, such as reactant delivery, physical particle separation, and inkjet print heads.
Microchannels can be defined as tubes/channels whose diameters are less than . There are many techniques used to manufacture microchannels, but the following four processes are more common (2): (i) Micromechanical machining,...
