Electronic
devices with high heat flux are currently facing heat
dissipation problems. Heat pipes can be used as efficient heat spreaders
to address this critical problem. However, as electronic devices become
smaller, the space for heat dissipation is becoming ever so limited;
hence, ultrathin heat pipes are desired. This study proposes a biomimetic
copper forest wick for an ultrathin heat pipe (UTHP). It is made by
a simple one-step electrodeposition process and appears as a natural
forest structure with abundant Ω-like grooves. Capillary rise
tests with ethanol were performed to characterize the capillary force
of the wick structure. Compared to traditional sintered particles,
this wick structure has a much higher capillary performance parameter, K/R
eff. The biomimetic copper
forest wick was used to fabricate a 0.6 mm thick UTHP. The UTHP was
tested at different filling ratios; the optimum filling ratio was
found to be about 71%. At a heating power of 6 W, the temperature
difference between the condenser and evaporator was only 1.2 °C,
with an effective thermal conductivity, λ
eff, up to 1.26 × 104 W m–1 K–1.