Silicon Microchannel
Cooling Structures
Etched silicon channels, bonded flow structures, and heater or sensor test chips, built from your drawing and your operating conditions. Choose the stage: open etched parts, a bonded cold plate, or a thermal test vehicle with inspection agreed before the run.
and port geometry
stage you need
reviewed per design
for a first lot
Turn a cooling concept into physical parts
Choose the stage you need, from an etched silicon coupon to a bonded structure or thermal test vehicle. Each project starts with a review of geometry, materials, and operating conditions.
Etched silicon structures
Patterned channels with a defined remaining silicon thickness; inlet, outlet, and mounting features reviewed with the design; open structures for inspection, assembly trials, or further processing.
Bonded flow structures
Lid material, ports, and bond lands considered together; bonding temperature and fluid compatibility reviewed before the route is fixed; seal inspection or fluidic tests included when agreed.
Heater and sensor test chips
Custom heater pattern with its electrical contact layout; NiCr or another suitable heater film reviewed per design; temperature-sensor structures where the layout provides access.
Silicon Microchannel Cooling Structures
Scope and specification options. Every figure is confirmed for your program in the quotation.
The channel is one part of the cooling assembly
A silicon cold plate is evaluated against a heater or a test die through a specified thermal interface. Fluidic connections, cover material, bond lands, and the mounting arrangement are reviewed together.
Channel geometry
Channel width, depth, wall thickness, and base thickness, with the manifold layout that feeds them.
Ports and sealing
Inlet and outlet access, seal layout, and the connection method your fixture uses.
Heat source and interface
Heat-source footprint, thermal interface material, and mounting load.
Operating conditions
Coolant, flow conditions, pressure, and the intended test temperature.
Tell us what the structure has to do
Send a drawing and the intended operating conditions. They define the fabrication scope, the interfaces, and the dimensional and inspection requirements.
| Parameter | What to include in your inquiry |
|---|---|
| Substrate and format | Silicon wafer or coupon dimensions, thickness, orientation if specified, and surface condition. |
| Channel geometry | Width, depth, spacing, minimum wall thickness, channel length, manifold layout, and the remaining base thickness. |
| Ports and connections | Inlet and outlet positions, opening dimensions, through-hole requirements, and the external connection method. |
| Cover and bonding | Open or covered structure; lid material and thickness, bond-land layout, and the acceptable bonding temperature. |
| Fluidic conditions | Intended coolant, flow range, operating pressure and temperature, and any leak-test requirement. |
| Thermal test vehicle | Heat-source dimensions, heater pattern, target resistance or applied power, and sensor locations. |
| Delivery and acceptance | Quantity, target date, wafer or diced-part format, required dimensional data, and the agreed acceptance criteria. |
A defined route from drawing to test part
The flow depends on whether you need open channels, a bonded structure, or a heater and sensor test chip.
- 01Drawing and interface reviewChannel geometry, ports, bond lands, remaining thickness, handling, and the intended thermal interface.
- 02Mask and patterningPrepare the layout and pattern the masking layers for channels, manifolds, ports, or thin-film structures.
- 03Silicon etchingEtch the approved channel and cavity features; dimensions and remaining material checked against the agreed process window.
- 04Ports and surface preparationComplete the selected openings and prepare surfaces for the next step, including any cleaning or metal layers.
- 05Cover bonding, when specifiedJoin the channel structure to the chosen lid by the approved bond route, with agreed inspection.
- 06Inspection and deliveryWafers or diced parts with the agreed geometry data and any electrical or fluidic results.
Measure the features that matter to your test
Define the inspection plan before fabrication. Functional evaluation needs the fixture, coolant, connections, and operating conditions specified.
Channel and port geometry
Optical inspection and dimensional measurement of channel width, depth, port openings, and remaining thickness.
Bonded interfaces
Inspection of the bonded structure by a method suited to the lid, bond material, and geometry.
Fluidic evaluation
Leak or pressure tests scoped with the test fluid, fixture, pressure, duration, and acceptance criteria.
Electrical test structures
Heater resistance, continuity, and temperature-sensor calibration where the test-chip design provides access.
Delivery: open etched silicon wafers or diced channel coupons, bonded flow structures with the agreed inspection record, patterned heater or temperature-sensor test chips, with optional metallization, dicing, and characterization.
For the next stage of thermal development
AI and HPC cooling research
Local heat removal, package interfaces, and microfluidic cooling concepts on real silicon rather than in simulation only.
Power and RF thermal development
Cold plates and test vehicles for devices where heat flux is concentrated in a small area.
Materials and equipment evaluation
Repeatable structures for coolant, interface material, and bonding evaluations.
Before you send a cooling design
Can you fabricate our own channel and manifold pattern?
Yes. Send the channel width and depth, wall and base thicknesses, port geometry, substrate dimensions, and a drawing or layout file; the supported geometry is confirmed at review.
Does the service include a complete cooling system?
The scope covers etched parts, specified bonding, test structures, and agreed inspection. Pumps, external manifolds, connectors, control electronics, and system-level qualification are outside it.
Can you etch channels into completed electronic devices?
Processing active devices needs a separate feasibility review: incoming layer stack, protection strategy, remaining silicon thickness, contamination restrictions, and thermal budget all matter.
Can you provide a heater chip for evaluating our cold plate?
A patterned resistive heater with a temperature-sensor layout can be quoted as a separate test vehicle. Specify heated area, power distribution, target resistance, and operating temperature.
What is needed for leak and thermal testing?
For fluidic tests: coolant, connections, fixture, flow, pressure, temperature, and acceptance criteria. For thermal tests, also the heat-source distribution and thermal interface.
Processes usually combined with this work
Dedicated pages that start from this process
Heater dies that load your cooling structure with a known power map; many cooling programs order both.
RTDs and thermocouples patterned on the cooling structure or the heater chip to read the temperature field.
Start your project.
Response typically within one business day.
Share your process requirements, substrate, and production volume. A Nanosystems JP Inc. engineer will respond typically within one business day. Full quote typically within 7-10 business days, subject to project complexity and NDA requirements.