Heat Sink

In electronic systems, a heat sink is a passive heat exchanger component that cools a device by dissipating heat into the surrounding air. In computers, heat sinks are used to cool central processing units or graphics processors. Heat sinks are used with high-power semiconductor devices such as power transistors and optoelectronic devices such as lasers and light emitting diodes (LEDs), wherever the heat dissipation ability of the basic device package is insufficient to control its temperature.

A heat sink is designed to increase the surface area in contact with the cooling medium surrounding it, such as the air. Approach air velocity, choice of material, fin (or other protrusion) design and surface treatment are some of the factors which affect the thermal performance of a heat sink. Heat sink attachment methods and thermal interface materials also affect the eventual die temperature of the integrated circuit. Thermal adhesive or thermal grease fills the air gap between the heat sink and device to improve its thermal performance. Theoretical, experimental and numerical methods can be used to determine a heat sink's thermal performance.