Journal Article

General strategy for developing thick-film micro-thermoelectric coolers from material fabrication to device integration

Sun, Xiaowen, Deng, Yuan, Yan, Yuedong, Wang, He, Li, Ranran, Zhao, Shijie, Zhao, Weiyun, Yan, Kaifen, Wang, Boyi, Hua, Xiaoshe, Kang, Man, Zhang, Weifeng

2024

Overview

Micro-thermoelectric coolers are emerging as a promising solution for high-density cooling applications in confined spaces. Unlike thin-film micro-thermoelectric coolers with high cooling flux at the expense of cooling temperature difference due to very short thermoelectric legs, thick-film micro-thermoelectric coolers can achieve better comprehensive cooling performance. However, they still face significant challenges in both material preparation and device integration. Herein, we propose a design strategy which combines Bi 2 Te 3 -based thick film prepared by powder direct molding with micro-thermoelectric cooler integrated via phase-change batch transfer. Accurate thickness control and relatively high thermoelectric performance can be achieved for the thick film, and the high-density-integrated thick-film micro-thermoelectric cooler exhibits excellent performance with maximum cooling temperature difference of 40.6 K and maximum cooling flux of 56.5 W·cm −2 at room temperature. The micro-thermoelectric cooler also shows high temperature control accuracy (0.01 K) and reliability (over 30000 cooling cycles). Moreover, the device demonstrates remarkable capacity in power generation with normalized power density up to 214.0 μW · cm −2  · K −2 . This study provides a general and scalable route for developing high-performance thick-film micro-thermoelectric cooler, benefiting widespread applications in thermal management of microsystems. The micro-thermoelectric coolers face challenges in high-performance material preparation and high-density device integration. Here, the authors combine Bi 2 Te 3 -based film prepared by powder direct molding with micro-thermoelectric cooler integrated via phase-change batch transfer.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 147/135 / 639/301/1005/1007 / 639/4077/4107 / Confined spaces / Coolers / Cooling / Fabrication / High density / High temperature / Humanities and Social Sciences / Integration / multidisciplinary / Phase change / Room temperature / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Temperature control / Temperature gradients / Thermal management / Thermoelectric cooling / Thermoelectric materials / Thin films