A better heat exchanger for that hot processor, The Sandia cooler

CNET reports on what they call a fanless heat exchanger.

Fanless heat sink design promises cooler, quieter CPUs

by Rich Brown

As a product category, CPU cooling hardware tends to offer few worthwhile developments, but a new heat sink concept from Sandia National Laboratories seems to offer tremendous promise for computers, as well as cooling appliances. Designed by researcher Jeffrey Koplow, the new "Sandia Cooler" does away with a separate fan component, and instead relies on the heat sink itself to disperse heated air.

The Sandia Labs press release is here.

Sandia’s “Cooler” technology offers fundamental breakthrough in heat transfer for microelectronics, other cooling applications

Jeff Koplow

Sandia’s Jeff Koplow makes an adjustment to an earlier prototype of his Air Bearing Heat Exchanger invention. The technology, as known as the “Sandia Cooler,” will significantly reduce the energy needed to cool the processor chips in data centers and large-scale computing environments.(Photo by Dino Vournas) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.

Licensing opportunities now available

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Sandia National Laboratories has developed a new technology with the potential to dramatically alter the air-cooling landscape in computing and microelectronics, and lab officials are now seeking licensees in the electronics chip cooling field to license and commercialize the device.

The “Sandia Cooler,” also known as the “Air Bearing Heat Exchanger,” is a novel, proprietary air-cooling invention developed by Sandia researcher Jeff Koplow, who was recently selected by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to take part in the NAE’s 17th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium.

 

The benefits of the Sandia Cooler are on this site which doesn't list servers.

Benefits Dramatic increase in cooling performance without resorting to exotic methods
10x smaller than current state-of-the-art CPU coolers
Exceptionally quiet operation
Immune to dust fouling
Simple, rugged, and cost-competitive design
Provides increased energy

efficiency Applications and Industries Laptops
High performance "gaming" PCs
Home video game boxes
Various other electronic devices

If you are interested in the patent application go here.

Sandia Cooler - A Fundamentally New Approach to Air-cooled Heat Exchangers for Electronics Chip Cooling

Solicitation Number: 11_360

Agency: Department of Energy
Office: Sandia Corp. (DOE Contractor)
Location: Sandia National Laboratories

Synopsis:

Added: Jun 17, 2011 1:00 pm

Sandia National Laboratories seeks licensees for patent application #12/185,570 [title "Heat Exchanger Device and Method for Heat Transfer or Removal"; inventor Jeff Koplow; filing date Aug. 4, 2008; US Patent Application Publication #2009/1099997 A1; SD #10948]. This patent application involves a novel, proprietary air-cooled heat exchanger technology, known as the "Sandia Cooler" or alternatively the "Air Bearing Heat Exchanger". The current solicitation regards licensing opportunities in the field of electronics chip cooling. Sandia will be establishing a separate process for exploring partnering and/or licensing opportunities in other fields.