Energy-efficient variable-flow liquid cooling in 3D stacked architectures

Abstract

Liquid cooling has emerged as a promising solution for addressing the elevated temperatures in 3D stacked architectures. In this work, we first propose a framework for detailed thermal modeling of the microchannels embedded between the tiers of the 3D system. In multicore systems, workload varies at runtime, and the system is generally not fully utilized. Thus, it is not energy-efficient to adjust the coolant flow rate based on the worst-case conditions, as this would cause an excess in pump power. For energy-efficient cooling, we propose a novel controller to adjust the liquid flow rate to meet the desired temperature and to minimize pump energy consumption. Our technique also includes a job scheduler, which balances the temperature across the system to maximize cooling efficiency and to improve reliability. Our method guarantees operating below the target temperature while reducing the cooling energy by up to 30%, and the overall energy by up to 12% in comparison to using the highest coolant flow rate. © 2010 EDAA.