Microsoft has started testing a new cooling method to address the issue of excessive heat seen in artificial intelligence chips. This technology, called microfluidics, aims to effectively remove heat by circulating liquid directly inside the chips. Traditional cooling plates were limited in efficiency due to the layers between the chip and the heat source; in microfluidic design, the cooling liquid directly contacts the silicon.
By opening microchannels on the backside of the chip, direct flow cooling is enabled. Judy Priest, CTO of Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation, states that this approach could fundamentally change chip design: “Microfluidics will play a key role in achieving higher performance within smaller spaces.”
Laboratory results are notable: the microfluidic method demonstrates up to three times more effective heat removal compared to traditional cold plates and shows a 65% reduction in GPU temperatures. Additionally, AI-assisted mapping can detect hotspots on the chip and direct the cooling flow more precisely. The project is being advanced in partnership with Corintis to improve chip design and minimize water consumption with closed-loop cooling systems.
Actionable targets include countering the limitations of current cooling technologies and reducing energy consumption in data centers. It is also noted that companies like Lenovo, Dell, Supermicro, and Giga Computing are working on similar solutions.
