Thermal chip fabrication with arrays of sensors and heaters for micro-scale impingement cooling heat transfer analysis and measurements.

The design and fabrication for a thermal chip with an array of temperature sensors and heaters for study of micro-jet impingement cooling heat transfer process are presented. This thermal chip can minimize the heat loss from the system to the ambient and provide a uniform heat flux along the wall, thus local heat transfer processes along the wall can be measured and obtained. The fabrication procedure presented can reach a chip yield of 100%, and every one of the sensors and heaters on the chip is in good condition. In addition, micro-jet impingement cooling experiments are performed to obtain the micro-scale local heat transfer Nusselt number along the wall. Flow visualization for the micro-impinging jet is also made. The experimental results indicate that both the micro-scale impinging jet flow structure and the heat transfer process along the wall is significantly different from the case of large-scale jet impingement cooling process.