PS5 will use liquid metal cooling according to patent

Recently, a Sony patent was published that was registered last year, which shows that the company's next-generation console, the Playstation 5, will use a liquid cooling technique that uses metal alloys. Analyzing a version of the document translated into English, it is known that the patent consists of using various metal alloys (including silver and copper) that assume a liquid form even at room temperature.

Check below an image of the patent presented that better illustrates how the liquid metal cooling technique will work:

The patent sketches show the seals containing the liquid metal, made from an "ultraviolet cured resin" to ensure the material doesn't leak all over the hardware. Liquid metal alloys will only be on the processor heatsink. The rest of the video game hardware will be cooled through thermal paste/grease and coolers to move the hot air out.

Check below the description about the liquid cooling system through the use of metal alloys in the PS5:

"When the amount of heat generation of the semiconductor chip increases, it becomes difficult to sufficiently cool the semiconductor chip due to the thermal resistance possessed by the grease. In the semiconductor device...a metal liquefied by heat at the time of operation of a semiconductor chip is Used as a heat conductive material between the semiconductor chip and radiator in place of grease. When this metal is used, the thermal resistance between the semiconductor chip and radiator is reduced and the cooling performance of the semiconductor chip can be improved.

In a structure that uses a fluid metal as a heat-conducting material, in order to sufficiently exhibit cooling performance, it is important to limit a range in which the heat-conducting material spreads even when a change in posture or vibration occurs. of the semiconductor device. Also, when the heat sink is pressed against the semiconductor chip, it is important that the force acts sufficiently on the semiconductor chip. That is, the adhesion between the semiconductor chip and the radiator is also important."

It is important to point out that it is not certain that the Playstation 5 will actually use the cooling system described above. There's a chance that Sony has opted for something similar, but not necessarily exact.

Recently, the head of Microsoft's video game division, Phil Spencer, was interviewed. During the interview, Phil told us a bit about the next-gen console cooling challenges, be sure to check it out here!