Heat-radiating component and method of manufacturing the same

Abstract

A heat-radiating component includes a wick layer formed on an inner wall of a hermetically sealed container made of metal and a working fluid encapsulated in the hermetically sealed container. In the wick layer, micro carbon fiber is mixed into metal powder. In one aspect, the wick layer is a structure combined by a first wick and a second wick, the first wick being formed of sintered metal powder, and the second wick being a plating layer into which micro carbon fiber is mixed so as to partially fill air space inside the first wick while covering a surface of the first wick. The first wick is preferably a body sintered copper powder, and the second wick is preferably made of a copper plating layer into which carbon nanotube or carbon nanofiber is mixed.

1 . A heat-radiating component comprising:
 a hermetically sealed container made of metal;   a wick layer formed on an inner wall of the hermetically sealed container; and   a working fluid encapsulated in the hermetically sealed container,   wherein micro carbon fiber is mixed into metal powder in the wick layer.   
     
     
         2 . The heat-radiating component according to  claim 1 , wherein the wick layer is a structure combined by a first wick and a second wick, the first wick being formed of sintered metal powder, and the second wick being a plating layer into which micro carbon fiber is mixed so as to partially fill air space inside the first wick while covering a surface of the first wick. 
     
     
         3 . The heat-radiating component according to  claim 2 , wherein the first wick is a body sintered copper powder, and the second wick is formed of a copper plating layer into which carbon nanotube or carbon nanofiber is mixed. 
     
     
         4 . The heat-radiating component according to  claim 2 , wherein the wick layer is formed at least at a position on the inner wall of the hermetically sealed container, the position corresponding to a portion where the heat-radiating component exchanges heat with outside. 
     
     
         5 . The heat-radiating component according to  claim 1 , wherein the wick layer is a sintered wick layer formed by sintering copper powder into which carbon nanotube or carbon nanofiber is mixed. 
     
     
         6 . The heat-radiating component according to  claim 5 , wherein the wick layer is formed at least at a position on the inner wall of the hermetically sealed container, the position corresponding to a portion where the heat-radiating component exchanges heat with outside. 
     
     
         7 . The heat-radiating component according to  claim 1 , wherein the micro carbon fiber is carbon nanotube or carbon nanofiber. 
     
     
         8 . The heat-radiating component according to  claim 1 , wherein the working fluid is water. 
     
     
         9 . A method of manufacturing a heat-radiating component which includes a wick layer formed on an inner wall of a hermetically sealed container made of metal and which encapsulates a working fluid in the hermetically sealed container, the method comprising forming the wick layer,
 wherein the forming the wick layer includes mixing micro carbon fiber into metal powder.   
     
     
         10 . The method of manufacturing a heat-radiating component, according to  claim 9 , wherein the forming the wick layer includes:
 forming a first wick by depositing and then sintering metal powder on one of surfaces of a metal plate before being formed into a required shape as the hermetically sealed container; and   forming, by use of a plating solution in which micro carbon fiber is dispersed, a second wick so as to partially fill air space inside the first wick while covering a surface portion of the first wick.   
     
     
         11 . The method of manufacturing a heat-radiating component, according to  claim 10 , wherein copper powder is used as the metal powder in the forming of the first wick, and a copper plating solution in which carbon nanotube or carbon nanofiber is dispersed is used in the forming of the second wick. 
     
     
         12 . The method of manufacturing a heat-radiating component, according to  claim 9 , wherein the forming the wick layer includes forming a sintered wick layer through a dry process by sintering a mixture of copper powder and carbon nanotube or carbon nanofiber with the mixture put in close contact with one of surfaces of a metal plate before being formed into a required shape as the hermetically sealed container. 
     
     
         13 . The method of manufacturing a heat-radiating component, according to  claim 12 , wherein the dry process includes:
 uniformly mixing the copper powder and the carbon nanotube or carbon nanofiber by a fast gas mixture technique; and   sintering the mixture through copper pulse electric current sintering with the mixture pressed against and put in close contact with the one of surfaces of the metal plate.