Microsoft wants to cool processors from the inside

Kevin Hofer

24/9/2025

Translation: machine translated

Microsoft has been working for some time on a technology that could elegantly solve the cooling problem of computing units: Microfluidics directly in the processors. The company has now announced a breakthrough.

The current AI accelerators and high-end processors are reaching their thermal limits. While computing power is increasing, cooling methods remain largely unchanged - a problem that Microsoft now wants to tackle from the inside.

The company is working with the Swiss start-up Corintis to develop tiny cooling channels that are integrated directly into the chips. These microchannels are only around 100 micrometres wide and transport cooling liquid directly to the hottest areas of the processor. Now, for the first time, the company has been able to develop a chip cooled in this way that actually works.

Microfluidics in a nutshell

The idea is as ingenious as it is complex. Instead of strapping a bulky heat sink onto the chip, microscopically fine channels, thinner than a human hair, are milled directly onto the back of the silicon die, i.e. the bare processor core.

A cooling liquid is pumped through these microchannels. The trick here is what is known as two-phase cooling: the liquid absorbs the extreme heat of the chip, evaporates immediately and transports the heat away in the form of vapour. At another point in the cycle, the vapour condenses back into liquid and the cycle starts all over again. This process is many times more effective than simply heating water and cooling it down with air in a radiator.

Great potential

The potential of this technology is huge. According to Microsoft, CPUs and GPUs cooled in this way could achieve up to three times higher performance as they are no longer slowed down by overheating. The cooling is so efficient that it can dissipate over 1000 watts per square centimetre - a value that we can only dream of with today's systems. For comparison: Be Quiet specifies a cooling capacity of 270 watts for the Dark Rock Pro 5 - on a much larger surface area.

This opens up completely new possibilities for chip design. Processors could be built much more densely or even stacked on top of each other - without heat collapse. For data centres, this not only means more power in less space, but also massive savings in energy and water, which are currently required to cool entire server farms.

Unresolved questions

But before we can dream of liquid-cooled processors in our gaming PCs, there are still a few hurdles to overcome. Because production is extremely complex. The cooling channels have to be milled onto the extremely fragile silicon die with the utmost precision. One tiny mistake in this process and the expensive chip is just electronic waste.

Other questions, such as how the tiny cooling channels affect the chip structure and to what extent they make production more expensive, are also still unanswered. Particularly critical: what happens if the microchannels become blocked? With conventional water cooling systems, blockages can still be rectified - with integrated channels, this would probably mean the end of the entire chip.

Microfluidics could well become the future of processor cooling - if the unanswered questions can be resolved. Until then, we will continue to cool our chips conventionally.

Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.

---

News + Trends

From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.

Show all

These articles might also interest you