Analysis of thermoelectric cooler performance for high power electronic packages

In this paper, an analysis of thermoelectric cooler (TEC) performance is conducted for high power electronic packages such as processors. Based on the TEC module parameters, two sets of analytical solutions for TECs in system constraints are derived for the junction temperature T-j at a fixed cooling power Q(c), and for Q(c) at a fixed T-j, respectively. As against the iterative procedure often reported in literature, the major advantage of the present analytical method lies in the fact that the solutions can be obtained without resorting to the pellet thermoelectric parameters and geometric details. Two cooling scenarios, the processor test and the processor cooling under end-user conditions, are analyzed based on the present analysis models for two commercial TECs with high cooling power capacities nominal. Analytical results show that significant thermal enhancements are achievable based on optimized currents and cooling configurations. The validation of the present analysis is also conducted through experimental measurements and comparison with previous solutions. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.