VAPOR CHAMBER

    • Heat pipe heat sinks are devices that exploit the principle of liquid phase change within a hermetically sealed tube to transfer heat very efficiently. These heat pipes, usually made of copper and aluminum, accelerate heat exchange by moving heat from a hot source to a cooler area where the vapor condenses and returns to a liquid state via capillary action, repeating the cycle.

    How they work:

    Evaporation:
    A liquid inside the heat pipe (often water) is heated by the heat source (e.g. a processor) and turns into vapor.

    Transport:
    The hot steam moves towards the coldest area of ​​the heat sink, the lamellar part.

    Condensation:
    In the cold zone, the steam releases its latent heat and turns back into liquid.

    Return:
    The liquid returns to the hot zone through the action of a “wick” or through capillary action, and the process repeats cyclically. 

    Applications

    Cooling of electronic components:

    They are used to cool processors, graphics cards, and high-speed network components, such as communications modules. 

    Cooling of specific systems:

    There are also heat pipe solutions to cool the NVMe SSD heatsinks for the PlayStation 5. 

    Why use heat pipes:

    High efficiency:
    They offer a very high effective thermal conductivity, thousands of times higher than that of solid conductors such as copper or aluminium.

    Long distance transfer:

    They can transfer heat even over relatively long distances with minimal losses. 

    Silence:

    In many applications, such as SSD heatsinks, the passive, fanless design allows for completely silent operation.