A researcher has developed a new heat sink that does away with the need for a separate fan, like those found in active-cooled heat sink designs today. Jeff Koplow, of the U.S. government's Sandia National Laboratories, took out the fan and replaced the heat sink with one that incorporates a rotating fin for greater efficiency in heat dispersal.

Touted as the "Sandia Cooler," the new heat sink works by eliminating the boundary layer of air that surrounds a traditional heat sink, and which results in some retention of heat. The new design also solves the problem of heat-sink fouling, in which the performance of a heat sink is degraded over time due to the accumulation of dust or pollen as air is pumped through the head sink. Because the rotating component is expected to spin at lower speeds, noise is also reduced as a result.

This more efficient design could support processors with clock speeds faster than 3GHz. In addition, the compact form factor of the prototype raises the possibility of its use in newer low-profile desktops or slim laptops.

Finally, Koplow said that should the technology be amenable to scaling, total electrical power consumption in the United States could be reduced by upwards of 7 percent.

According to CNET News, Sandia is currently soliciting requests to license the Sandia Cooler design for CPU cooler manufacturing. In the meantime, you can read the full 48-page report titled "A Fundamentally New Approach to Air-cooled Heat Exchangers" here (.pdf).

For more:
- read the official report (.pdf) by Koplow
- check out this article at New Scientist
- check out this article at ExtremeTech
- check out this article at CNET News

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