Northeast: Heat dissipation structures are becoming increasingly precise and complex, and the MIM process is expected to quickly penetrate.

Northeast issued a research report stating that the current mainstream liquid cooling systems face industry pain points such as high leakage risk, high thermal resistance, limited heat dissipation efficiency, high production costs in large quantities, and unstable yield. As chip processing advances to more extremes, the growth rate of transistor density is significantly slowing down, and the power consumption of single transistors is no longer decreasing. An increase in the number of transistors on the chip will inevitably lead to an increase in chip power consumption. Continuous iteration of cooling solutions is an inevitable trend, and the industry is optimistic about the rapid increase in the penetration rate of MIM technology. The main points from Northeast are as follows: The current mainstream liquid cooling structural components use CNC segmented processing + brazing, aluminum alloy die casting, and sheet metal assembly processes, leading to the following industry pain points: 1. High leakage risk: The cold plate, joints, and three-way valve body are joined by multiple pieces of metal brazing, with the brazed joints being weak points; residual brazing flux can block microchannels, leading to a high probability of leakage during long-term operation and a high risk of GPU burnout. 2. High thermal resistance and limited heat dissipation efficiency: The segmented structure has multiple assembly gaps, increasing the contact thermal resistance; CNC cannot form high aspect ratio microfin, complex embedded flow channels, and maximize heat transfer area. 3. High production costs in large quantities and unstable yield: CNC copper raw material costs are huge; complex internal cavities require multiple processes, multiple fixtures, and high labor costs; die casting is only suitable for simple shapes, with poor capabilities for forming thin-walled, micro-sealed grooves, and irregular flow channels, leading to a high defect rate; high labor costs for assembling multiple parts, poor size consistency, and insufficient batch delivery stability. The basic process of MIM (metal injection molding) involves mixing metal powder with organic binders to form granules, then injecting them into complex blanks, followed by debinding and sintering at high temperatures, and finally precision post-processing to achieve seamless molding with a part density reaching theoretical 96%-98%. It has the following advantages: 1. Sealing leak points by eliminating welds: MIM can mold a fully enclosed cold plate structure with multiple layers of microchannels and fins internally in one step, without the need for segmented welding, eliminating the risk of weld leakage and ensuring purity to meet DCC's stringent standards for direct chip liquid cooling. 2. High degree of freedom for complex heat exchange structures, maximizing liquid cooling heat dissipation: Can form ultra-thin walls of 0.4mm, high aspect ratio fins, irregular bifurcated manifolds, integrated O-ring groove seals, and mounting bases; complex structures that traditional CNC cannot achieve in one piece, reducing the number of assembly parts by more than 50%. 3. Copper-based MIM offers batch economy: After mold finalization, the single-piece production cost in large quantities is significantly lower than CNC, reducing server liquid cooling costs. 4. High dimensional consistency, reducing overall assembly difficulty. With a dimensional accuracy of 0.1mm and minimal part tolerance fluctuations in batch production, the integrated form of error-proof and positioning structures improves the efficiency of data center installation. Risk warning: Technological development falls short of expectations, intensification of industry competition.