MEMS technology company xMEMS, which came into the market developing piezoelectric technology for audio speakers and microphones, is now leveraging the same technology for another purpose: cooling miniature mobile devices. The company has developed what it terms as a silicon fan-on-a chip.

The chip developed by xMEMS generates airflow and air pressure using ultrasonic frequency, according to Mike Housholder, xMEMS VP Marketing and Business Development, in an interview with Design News. “Once we had the ultrasonic transducer, we decided to tweak the technology to generate airflow.”

For xMEMs, the timing was perfect. With mobile devices such as smartphones getting ever thinner, mobile product designers need a way to cool hot-running processors but cannot use a bulky, power-hungry fan. “Thermal management is the major issue limiting the performance of smartphones,” Housholder said. “This forces the smartphone maker to throttle the device’s performance, such as slowing the processor speed or dimming the display.” He added that this becomes an even greater issue when smartphones are used for computational-intensive functions such as gaming, photography, and video calls, and will only become more exacerbated as AI to the Edge applications grow for smartphones.

Related:Chip Cools Other Hot Running Chips to Maximize Their Performance

The cooling chip developed by xMEMS measures a tiny 0.93 x 0.76 x 0.108 cm and is available in both top- and side-vented packages. The top-vented package lets air flow through slits on the lid to cool down the heat source. The side-vented package supports chip stacking with an applications processor, letting cool air flow from bottom vent holes to force the air out the side.

Second Semiconductor Cooler

xMEMS, is not the first company to develop a semiconductor-based cooling device. In December 2022, San Jose-based startup Frore Systems introduced its AirJet Mini and AirJet Pro cooling chips. The company has also developed a thinner version called the Mini Slim which measures 4.15 x 2.75 cm x 0.25 cm in size. For now, xMEMS appears to have beat Frore Systems’ smallest cooling chips in size.

Housholder foresees applications for its cooling chip not only in smartphones, but also tablets, AR/VR glasses, ultra-thin, external solid state drives, and wireless chargers.

Through its foundry partner TSMC, xMEMS will produce the fan standard semiconductor manufacturing processes. Samples of the fan will be available in early 2025, with production quantities following a year later.