Thermoelectric coolers for high-power-density 3D electronics heat management

Future advancements in three-dimensional (3D) electronics require robust thermal management methodology. Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) are reliable and solid-state heat pumping devices with high cooling capacity that can meet the requirements of emerging 3D microelectronic devices. Here, we first provide the design of TECs for electronics cooling using a computational model and then experimentally validate the main predictions. Key device parameters such as device thickness, leg density, and contact resistance were studied to understand their influence on the performance of TECs. Our results show that it is possible to achieve high cooling power density through optimization of TE leg height and packing density. Scaling of TECs is shown to provide ultra-high cooling power density.& nbsp;Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

Future advancements in 3D electronics rely on robust thermal management methodology. Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) are solid-state heat pumping devices that can meet the cooling requirements of emerging 3D microelectronic devices. This study provides a computational model for designing TECs for electronics cooling and validates the predictions through experiments. The results show that high cooling power density can be achieved by optimizing TE leg height and packing density.