A miniature cooling system which involves pumping water through a tube the width of a human hair could hold the key to the future of computing, according to research.

Scientists say that by channelling water through ultra-thin pipes, computer chips could be kept cool even when they are placed on top of one another. That in turn could pave the way for better performance.

Stacking chips in a pile shortens the distance that electrons have to travel to about a thousandth of the length they cover if the chips are laid alongside one another, as is normal. But the heat produced by micro-processors has so far made such an architecture unfeasible.

Researchers at IBM's research laboratory in Zurich say they have found a way to pump cooling water through a stack of chips without disturbing the electrical circuitry of the stack. "The challenge was to insulate water from interfering with the electical signals," said Thomas Brunschwiler, who led the team of researchers.

Traditional cooling mechanisms - such as fans - do not produce a sufficient cooling effect to allow vertical stacking of chips.

In the research, scientists created a test structure in which water was pumped through a cooling layer one tenth of a millimetre wide and positioned between two heat sources, imitating a situation where one chip was placed on top of another. They then connected the two sources with 10,000 tiny, vertical wires known as "vias".

The vias were each hermetically sealed by two layers - one of silicon, another of silicon oxide - so that the cooling water would not come into contact with any electricity. "It's like the human brain, where you mix electrical signals from the neurons with blood vessels that provide cooling and oxygen," Mr Brunschwiler told The Wall Street Journal.

Mr Brunschwiler added that the team had investigated using other liquids as a coolant but concluded water was best because it flowed more easily and didn't give rise to environmental hazards.

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