Advanced thermal management technologies for defense electronics

Thermal management technology plays a key role in the continuing miniaturization, performance improvements, and higher reliability of electronic systems. For the past decade, and particularly, the past 4 years, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has aggressively pursued the application of micro- and nano-technology to reduce or remove thermal constraints on the performance of defense electronic systems. The DARPA Thermal Management Technologies (TMT) portfolio is comprised of five technical thrust areas: Thermal Ground Plane (TGP), Microtechnologies for Air-Cooled Exchangers (MACE), Nano Thermal Interfaces (NTI), Active Cooling Modules (ACM), and Near Junction Thermal Transport (NJTT). An overview of the TMT program will be presented with emphasis on the goals and status of these efforts relative to the current State-of-the-Art. The presentation will close with future challenges and opportunities in the thermal management of defense electronics.