Intel Corporation
Crushable heat sink for electronic devices

Abstract:

A heatsink includes a fin-set that includes a corrugated ribbon having a first, deformable, portion and a second, convective, portion that is not deformed. A plurality of corrugated ribbons may be physically and/or thermally coupled (e.g., via mechanical fasteners, thermally conductive bonding, or reflow) to form the heatsink. A force may be applied to the heatsink sufficient to at least partially crush the first, deformable, portion to conform to an external surface of an electronic device. The heatsink may be physically affixed and thermally coupled to an external surface of the electronic device via mechanical fasteners, thermally conductive adhesives or via reflow of a low-melt temperature layer disposed on an external surface of the heatsink. The crushed portion of the first, deformable, portion conforms to the regular (e.g., planar) or irregular surface profile of the electronic device, beneficially and surprisingly improving thermal performance of the heatsink.