The rapid emergence of nanoelectronics, with the consequent rise in transistor density and switching speed, has led to a steep increase in chip heat flux and growing concern over the emergence of onchip “hot spots” in microprocessors, along with such high flux regions in power electronic chips and LED’s. Miniaturized thermoelectric coolers (μ-TEC’s) are a most promising cooling technique for th...

Since the discovery of giant electrocaloric effects, researchers are intensively studying cooling as an alternative to vapor compression systems develop more efficient heat pumps and mitigate climate change. Endorsed by its direct use electricity, easy-handling, compact design, recent advancements in performance coolers have finally displayed temperatures comparable similar competing technologi...

1 Contact author e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT A 3D electrothermal model is used to simulate and optimize Si/SiGe superlattice heterostructure micro-coolers. The model considers thermoelectric/thermionic cooling, heat conduction and Joule heating. It also includes non-ideal effects, such as contact resistance between metal and semiconductor, substrate/heatsink thermal resistance, the side c...

In this paper a model for the performance prediction and optimization of air coolers for indirect refrigeration systems is presented. The model applies for finned rube air coolers operating under frosting conditions and considers the transient heat and mass transfer between humid air and air cooler surfaces. The model is extended with an energy consumption analysis for the compression refrigera...

Vibration-free miniature Joule-Thomson (JT) coolers are of interest for cooling small optical detectors for future space missions. The European Space Agency is interested in on-chip detector cooling for the temperature range 70¶K¶-¶250¶K. This is the topic of a new project at the University of Twente. In this project, the focus is on the integration of Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) bas...

Most optoelectronic devices for long haul optical communications are based on the InP/InGaAsP family of materials. Thin film coolers based on the same material system can be monolithically integrated with optoelectronic devices such as lasers, switches, and photodetectors to control precisely the device characteristics such as wavelength and optical power. Superlattice structures of InGaAs/InP ...

A cooling water system is used in industrial processes to cool down hot process streams from their supply conditions to target temperatures. A cooling water system is comprised of three major components, namely a cooling tower, a heat exchanger network (HEN), and a pumping system; these elements have strong interactions with each other and therefore must be optimized simultaneously to yield an ...

The fabrication and characterization of single element p-type SiGe/Si superlattice coolers are described. Superlattice structures were used to enhance the device performance by reducing the thermal conductivity between the hot and the cold junctions, and by providing selective emission of hot carriers through thermionic emission. The structure of the samples consisted of a 3 μm thick symmetrica...