Summary: Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have successfully built liquid cooling channels directly onto 28nm FPGA chips, eliminating the need for additional heatsinks and fans on top of the chips. By etching cooling passages into the silicon and incorporating silicon cylinders for improved heat transfer the researchers pumped de-ionized water through the channels at 147 ml per minute, achieving a ΔT of 4°C, compared to an aircooled solution operating at 60°C. Incorporating copper structures into the silicon would allow stacking multiple chips for cooler, denser, and consequently more energy-efficient systems.
Now for the exciting bit:
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The chips used for the research were stock chips that the researchers modified. If manufacturers integrated this into their designs the results could potentially be even better. We could also see drastic reductions in motherboard and expansion card sizes.
