Analytical modeling of silicon thermoelectric microcooler

Due to its inherently favorable properties, doped single-crystal silicon has potential application as an on-chip thermoelectric microcooler for advanced integrated circuits. In this paper, an analytical thermal model for silicon microcooler, which couples Peltier cooling with heat conduction and heat generation in the silicon substrate, and which includes heat conduction and heat generation in the metal lead, is derived and used to study the thermal characteristics of silicon thermoelectric microcoolers. The analytical modeling results are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental data and the results from electrothermal numerical simulations. The effects of metal lead, electric contact resistance, silicon doping concentrations, and microcooler sizes on the cooling performance are investigated. The cooling potential of such thermoelectric devices, represented by peak cooling and maximum cooling heat flux on the microcooler surface, is addressed. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.