US Patent 7538422 - Multilayer CNT IC cooler

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7538422.html

The use of carbon nanotubes for heat removal is being explored by a variety of semiconductor companies. One of the problems is that the distance of thermal conduction is limited by the attainable length of the nanotubes. This patent from Nanoconduction Inc. teaches a multilayer CNT structure to extend the allowable distance between an IC and a heat sink. Claim 1 reads:

1. A micro-cooler device structure comprising:

a heat sink body having a heat sink surface;

at least one integrated circuit chip having at least one integrated circuit chip surface; and

a multi-layer structure, each layer of said multilayer structure comprising a plurality of individually separated, rod-like nano-structures for transferring thermal energy from a surface of at least one integrated circuit chip to said heat sink surface, said plurality of individually separated, rod-like nano-structures being disposed between said heat sink surface and said surface of at least one integrated circuit chip;

wherein a thermally conductive material is disposed within interstitial voids between said plurality of individually separated, rod-like nano-structures, and wherein the rod-like nano-structures of each layer of said multilayer structure form a continuum between the layers of the multi-layer structure.