Performance and mass optimization of thermoelectric microcoolers

Koh, Yee Rui; Yazawa, Kazuaki; Shakouri, Ali

doi:10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2015.06.004

Cited by 17 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…the matrix K contains the coefficients of the spatial derivatives: (19) and the vectors T andṪ are the unknown temperatures through time:…”

Section: Equation Solution By Finite Element Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Possible applications of these devices have been investigated by Zhang et al [18] where the performance of a TEC was studied for electronic packages such as processors using optimized currents and cooling configurations. Works at microscale by Koh et al [19] analyzed thermoelectric (TE) microcoolers for hotspot cooling aiming for the development of TE devices. The transient supercooling effect can find many applications where extra cooling required for a short time, such as infrared detectors during the winking mode, and condensation hygrometers require a significant decrease in temperature to reach the dew point, as well as supercooling the nozzles or tubes in a conventional refrigerator.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Peltier Supercooling in Transient Thermoelectrics: Spatial Temperature Profile and Characteristic Cooling Length

Ruiz-Ortega

Olivares-Robles

2019

Entropy

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Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) can reach temperatures below that obtained with a steady-state current by applying an electrical current pulse which enables a transitory state in a Peltier device. This effect is known as supercooling. In this paper, we study characteristics parameters, such as the minimum cooling temperature and spatial temperature profile, in a TEC operated under current pulses and a cooling load ( Q c ) . Numerical analysis for a one-dimensional thermoelectric model of the cooling system is developed, and a novel MATLAB programming code is proposed for the transient state based on finite element analysis. We also investigate the influence of the thermoelement’s length upon the cooling mechanism. A new parameter called the “characteristic cooling length” is proposed to describe the length in which the minimum cooling temperature occurs along the elements of a TEM. Results show the transient temperature profiles along the elements of the semiconductor P-type element, and a “characteristic cooling length” is characterized. We also propose a general principle, and the lowest cooling temperature values are obtained for a semiconductor’s small length and variable pulse cooling load under current pulse operation. The present study will serve as guidance for the geometric design of TECs under current pulse operations.

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“…the matrix K contains the coefficients of the spatial derivatives: (19) and the vectors T andṪ are the unknown temperatures through time:…”

Section: Equation Solution By Finite Element Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peltier Supercooling in Transient Thermoelectrics: Spatial Temperature Profile and Characteristic Cooling Length

Ruiz-Ortega

Olivares-Robles

2019

Entropy

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“…V‐telluride materials such as Bi 2 Te 3 and Sb 2 Te 3 have been of interest for thermoelectric applications and recently for their topological insulator properties . In particular, thin films of such materials have shown excellent performance for on‐chip cooling with even better performance predicted theoretically . To realize the full promise of these materials, it is necessary to eliminate parasitics that can limit the performance.…”

Section: Transfer Length and Specific Contact Resistivity Values For mentioning

confidence: 99%

High‐Efficiency Thin‐Film Superlattice Thermoelectric Cooler Modules Enabled by Low Resistivity Contacts

Léonard

Medlin

et al. 2018

Adv Elect Materials

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As such, metal contacts play an important role for thin-film thermoelectric (TE) devices, especially in high heat-flux applications (e.g., chip cooling) where low contact resistivity (ρ C ) is critical to device performance. [15][16][17] Recent work [18] has demonstrated low electrical contact resistivity ρ C in the range 1-2 × 10 −6 Ω cm 2 in TE modules based on (Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 superlattices using the evaporation of Cr/Ni/ Au to fabricate metal electrodes. For thinfilm thermoelectric modules with the TE thickness <2 µm, further reduction of ρ C to 10 −8 Ω cm 2 is needed for the contact resistivity to be a small fraction of the resistivity of the thermoelectric element itself. [18] Creating such low contact resistivities is challenging from a fabrication perspective, [19] but also because little is known about the fundamental properties of metal contacts to these materials. For example, even basic properties such as the atomic and electronic structure of the metal/TE interface are largely unknown. This makes it difficult to optimize the contact resistivity and to establish the fundamental limits [20] that are possible. To address this challenge, we present an integrated theoretical and experimental effort toward understanding the limits of low-ρ C in realistic metal contacts to advanced TE materials. We present a new multiscale theoretical approach combining ab initio calculations and continuum mesoscopic models to investigate the structural, electronic, and transport properties of electrical contacts to novel TE materials used in thin-film, superlattice V-telluride devices. We show that the nature of these semiconductor materials leads to unusual contact properties, such as strong n-type doping near the interface and interfacial atomic dipoles that completely determine the band bending. We predict that significant improvement over previously reported experimental data is possible, and we present new experimental data that demonstrate a 100-fold reduction in contact resistivity. Detailed atomistic spatially resolved measurements of the new contacts show that additional improvement should be possible. Importantly, we demonstrate that the reduction in contact resistivity can be harnessed to improve the thermoelectric efficiency of cooling modules.To understand the electrical properties of contacts to (Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 materials and their realistic low ρ C limit we carried out a series of large scale ab initio calculations of the Sb 2 Te 3 -Cr V-telluride superlattice thin films have shown promising performance for on-chip cooling devices. Recent experimental studies have indicated that device performance is limited by the metal/semiconductor electrical contacts. One challenge in realizing a low resistivity contact is the absence of fundamental knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of interfaces between metal and V-telluride materials. This study presents a combination of experimental and theoretical efforts to understand, design, and harness low resistivity contacts to V-tellurides. Ab initio calculations a...

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“…With recent advances in integrated circuit technology and miniaturizing of electronic devices, the generated heat by devices became a significant problem that made engineers increase the efficiency of cooling systems (He et al , 2021). Various cooling methods are presented for dissipating the heat from electronic devices, same as heat pipes (Rama Narasimha et al , 2010), forced air cooling, thermo-electric cooling (Koh et al , 2015) and liquid-cooling systems (Prajapati, 2019; Alihosseini et al , 2020). To improve the performance of cooling systems, modern research has shifted to liquid technologies such as microchannel/pin-fin heat sinks (PFHSs) (Doshi et al , 2022; Paramanandam and Srinivasan, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A numerical study on thermo-hydraulic performance of micro pin-fin heat sink using hybrid pin-fins arrangement for electronic cooling devices

Bari

Targhi

Heyhat

2023

HFF

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Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of a combination of hybrid pin-fin patterns on a heat sink's performance using numerical techniques. Also, flow characteristics have been studied, such as secondary flow formation and flow-wall interaction. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the effect of hybrid arrangements of elliptical and hexagonal pin-fins with different distribution percentages on flow characteristics and performance evaluation criteria in laminar flow was investigated. Ansys-Fluent software solves the governing equations using the finite volume method. Also, the accuracy of obtained results was compared with the experimental results of other similar papers. Findings The results of this study highlighted that hybrid arrangements show higher overall performance than single pin-fin patterns. Among the hybrid arrangements, case 3 has the highest values of performance evaluation criteria, that is, 1.84 in Re = 900. The results revealed that, with the instantaneous change in the pattern from elliptic to hexagonal, the secondary flow increases in the cross-sectional area of the channels, and the maximum velocity in the cross-section of the channel increases. The important advantages of case 3 are its highest overall performance and a lower chip surface temperature of up to about 2% than other hybrid patterns. Originality/value Prior research has shown that in the single pin-fin pattern, the cooling power at the end of the heat sink decreases with increasing fluid temperature. Also, a review of previous studies showed that existing papers had not investigated hybrid pin-fin patterns by considering the effect of changing distribution percentages on overall performance, which is the aim of this paper.

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Performance and mass optimization of thermoelectric microcoolers

Cited by 17 publications

References 35 publications

Peltier Supercooling in Transient Thermoelectrics: Spatial Temperature Profile and Characteristic Cooling Length

Peltier Supercooling in Transient Thermoelectrics: Spatial Temperature Profile and Characteristic Cooling Length

High‐Efficiency Thin‐Film Superlattice Thermoelectric Cooler Modules Enabled by Low Resistivity Contacts

A numerical study on thermo-hydraulic performance of micro pin-fin heat sink using hybrid pin-fins arrangement for electronic cooling devices

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