Molecular Cooling: Endothermic Chemistry for Next-Generation Chip Thermal Management

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and advanced semiconductor technologies is pushing chip power densities to unprecedented levels. As a result, heat removal is becoming one of the key barriers to further increases in computing performance. Conventional cooling approaches rely on the heat capacity and phase changes of cooling fluids, but these mechanisms are approaching their practical limits. This PhD project explores a radically different concept: molecular cooling, where reversible endothermic chemical reactions actively absorb heat and provide an additional cooling mechanism beyond traditional approaches. 

The goal of the project is to investigate whether chemical conversions can be used as a new thermal management tool for future electronic systems. By selecting suitable chemical reactions, catalytic materials, and integration strategies, the research will establish the fundamental principles governing chemically enhanced cooling at the microscale. The work will combine chemistry, catalysis, thermal sciences, and microfabrication to understand how molecular reactions can be harnessed to extract heat more efficiently and potentially address localized hotspots in advanced chips.

The PhD candidate will have the opportunity to develop and experimentally validate this concept through progressive research ranging from chemistry validation and catalyst development to proof-of-principle demonstrations and system-level validation on representative cooling platforms. Working at the interface of materials science, chemical engineering, and semiconductor technology, the candidate will contribute to the creation of a completely new cooling paradigm with the potential to outperform existing thermal-management solutions. 

This project is hosted within imec's Lab, Exploratory Devicess & New Materials (LEAN) department and directly addresses future cooling challenges in advanced computing systems. It offers a unique opportunity to pioneer an emerging research direction, publish high-impact scientific work, and contribute to technologies that could shape the next generation of AI and high-performance computing hardware.