Mini-Contact Enhanced Thermoelectric Cooling of Hot Spots in High Power Devices
27 Aug 2007-IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies (IEEE)-Vol. 30, Iss: 3, pp 432-438
TL;DR: In this paper, a chip package featuring a TE Mini-contact cooler integrated with conventional integrated heat spreader and heat sink is designed for hot-spot cooling, and the cooling performance of such chip package has been investigated by using a 3-D numeric model.
Abstract: Cooling hot-spots with high heat flux (e.g., >1000 W/cm2) is becoming one of the most important technical challenge in today's integrated circuit industry. More aggressive thermal solutions, than would be required for uniform heating, are highly desired. Recently, solid state thermoelectric coolers (TECs) have received more attention for hot-spot thermal management. However, present day TECs typically have cooling flux much lower than heat flux in the hot-spots. In this work, we reported an innovative technique-TE Mini-contact-to significantly increase cooling flux of TECs for the application in hot-spot cooling. A chip package featuring a TE Mini-contact cooler integrated with conventional integrated heat spreader and heat sink is designed. The cooling performance of such chip package has been investigated by using a 3-D numeric model. It is found that the cooling in the hot-spot (1250 W/cm2, 400 mum by 400 mum) can be about 19 degC better in the proposed package than that achieved in the conventional chip package without TEC. The effects of trench, die thickness, and TEC misalignment on the cooling of the hot-spot are also discussed.
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TL;DR: In this article, a comprehensive review of thermoelectric (TE) technology encompassing the materials, applications, modelling techniques and performance improvement is carried out, including output power conditioning techniques.
Abstract: Thermoelectric (TE) technology is regarded as alternative and environmentally friendly technology for harvesting and recovering heat which is directly converted into electrical energy using thermoelectric generators (TEG). Conversely, Peltier coolers and heaters are utilized to convert electrical energy into heat energy for cooling and heating purposes The main challenge lying behind the TE technology is the low efficiency of these devices mainly due to low figure of merit (ZT) of the materials used in making them as well as improper setting of the TE systems. The objective of this work is to carry out a comprehensive review of TE technology encompassing the materials, applications, modelling techniques and performance improvement. The paper has covered a wide range of topics related to TE technology subject area including the output power conditioning techniques. The review reveals some important critical aspects regarding TE device application and performance improvement. It is observed that the intensified research into TE technology has led to an outstanding increase in ZT, rendering the use TE devices in diversified application a reality. Not only does the TE material research and TE device geometrical adjustment contributed to TE device performance improvement, but also the use of advanced TE mathematical models which have facilitated appropriate segmentation TE modules using different materials and design of integrated TE devices. TE devices are observed to have booming applications in cooling, heating, electric power generation as well as hybrid applications. With the generation of electric energy using TEG, not only does the waste heat provide heat source but also other energy sources like solar, geothermal, biomass, infra-red radiation have gained increased utilization in TE based systems. However, the main challenge remains in striking the balance between the conflicting parameters; ZT and power factor, when designing and optimizing advanced TE materials. Hence more research is necessary to overcome this and other challenge so that the performance TE device can be improved further.
398 citations
Cites background from "Mini-Contact Enhanced Thermoelectri..."
...With TE Cooling (TEC) devices, cooling hot-spots with high heat flux is becoming one of the most important technical challenges in integrated circuit industry, calling for more aggressive thermal solutions, than those required for uniform heating, to mitigate this problem [22]....
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TL;DR: In this paper, a discussion of the possible applications of flow boiling in microchannels in order to highlight the challenges in the thermal management for each application is presented. But, several fundamental issues are still not understood and this hinders the transition from laboratory research to commercial applications.
325 citations
Cites background from "Mini-Contact Enhanced Thermoelectri..."
...[9] stated that the processor speed decreases by 10–15% as a result of the local hot spots (high local temperature)....
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TL;DR: The development of graphene suggests substantial improvements in current electronic technologies and applications in healthcare systems and up-to-date graphene-based applications pave the way for advanced biomedical engineering, reliable human therapy, and environmental protection.
Abstract: Recently, graphene has been extensively researched in fundamental science and engineering fields and has been developed for various electronic applications in emerging technologies owing to its outstanding material properties, including superior electronic, thermal, optical and mechanical properties. Thus, graphene has enabled substantial progress in the development of the current electronic systems. Here, we introduce the most important electronic and thermal properties of graphene, including its high conductivity, quantum Hall effect, Dirac fermions, high Seebeck coefficient and thermoelectric effects. We also present up-to-date graphene-based applications: optical devices, electronic and thermal sensors, and energy management systems. These applications pave the way for advanced biomedical engineering, reliable human therapy, and environmental protection. In this review, we show that the development of graphene suggests substantial improvements in current electronic technologies and applications in healthcare systems.
195 citations
Cites background from "Mini-Contact Enhanced Thermoelectri..."
...Efficient heat management systems have become extremely important in various fields, such as electronic, optoelectronic, and thermoelectric applications, with the fast-growing development of state-of-the-art technologies to transport heat to the field environment; a high power heating density is required, or excessive heat must be prevented from deteriorating the device reliability, lifetime, and performance [234,235]....
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TL;DR: It is shown that cooling fluxes of 258 W cm−2 can be achieved in thin-film Bi2Te3-based superlattice thermoelectric modules, which will have far-reaching impacts in diverse applications, such as advanced computer processors, radio-frequency power devices, quantum cascade lasers and DNA micro-arrays.
Abstract: In present-day high-performance electronic components, the generated heat loads result in unacceptably high junction temperatures and reduced component lifetimes. Thermoelectric modules can, in principle, enhance heat removal and reduce the temperatures of such electronic devices. However, state-of-the-art bulk thermoelectric modules have a maximum cooling flux qmax of only about 10 W cm−2, while state-of-the art commercial thin-film modules have a qmax <100 W cm−2. Such flux values are insufficient for thermal management of modern high-power devices. Here we show that cooling fluxes of 258 W cm−2 can be achieved in thin-film Bi2Te3-based superlattice thermoelectric modules. These devices utilize a p-type Sb2Te3/Bi2Te3 superlattice and n-type δ-doped Bi2Te3−xSex, both of which are grown heteroepitaxially using metalorganic chemical vapour deposition. We anticipate that the demonstration of these high-cooling-flux modules will have far-reaching impacts in diverse applications, such as advanced computer processors, radio-frequency power devices, quantum cascade lasers and DNA micro-arrays. Current thermoelectric modules provide cooling fluxes that are insufficient for high-heat flux applications. Here, the authors demonstrate thin-film-based thermoelectric modules capable of providing cooling fluxes more than double that of the current state-of-the-art.
150 citations
TL;DR: The physical phenomena underpinning the most promising on-chip thermal management approaches for hot spot remediation, along with basic modeling equations and typical results are described in this paper, where attention is devoted to thermoelectric microcoolers.
Abstract: The rapid emergence of nanoelectronics, with the consequent rise in transistor density and switching speed, has led to a steep increase in microprocessor chip heat flux and growing concern over the emergence of on-chip “hot spots”. The application of on-chip high heat flux cooling techniques is today a primary driver for innovation in the electronics industry. In this paper, the physical phenomena underpinning the most promising on-chip thermal management approaches for hot spot remediation, along with basic modeling equations and typical results are described. Attention is devoted to thermoelectric microcoolers — using mini-contcat enhancement and in-plane thermoelectric currents, orthotropic TIM’s/heat spreaders, and phase-change microgap coolers.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
143 citations
References
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TL;DR: Th thin-film thermoelectric materials are reported that demonstrate a significant enhancement in ZT at 300 K, compared to state-of-the-art bulk Bi2Te3 alloys, and the combination of performance, power density and speed achieved in these materials will lead to diverse technological applications.
Abstract: Thermoelectric materials are of interest for applications as heat pumps and power generators. The performance of thermoelectric devices is quantified by a figure of merit, ZT, where Z is a measure of a material's thermoelectric properties and T is the absolute temperature. A material with a figure of merit of around unity was first reported over four decades ago, but since then-despite investigation of various approaches-there has been only modest progress in finding materials with enhanced ZT values at room temperature. Here we report thin-film thermoelectric materials that demonstrate a significant enhancement in ZT at 300 K, compared to state-of-the-art bulk Bi2Te3 alloys. This amounts to a maximum observed factor of approximately 2.4 for our p-type Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 superlattice devices. The enhancement is achieved by controlling the transport of phonons and electrons in the superlattices. Preliminary devices exhibit significant cooling (32 K at around room temperature) and the potential to pump a heat flux of up to 700 W cm-2; the localized cooling and heating occurs some 23,000 times faster than in bulk devices. We anticipate that the combination of performance, power density and speed achieved in these materials will lead to diverse technological applications: for example, in thermochemistry-on-a-chip, DNA microarrays, fibre-optic switches and microelectrothermal systems.
4,921 citations
"Mini-Contact Enhanced Thermoelectri..." refers methods in this paper
...In order to increase the cooling flux in TECs, two different approaches are currently being pursued: one is to develop highly efficient TE materials and the other is to miniaturize the TE elements [9]–[12]....
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14 Jul 1995
TL;DR: In this article, Rowe et al. proposed a method for reducing the thermal conductivity of a thermoelectric generator by reducing the carrier concentration of the generator, which was shown to improve the generator's performance.
Abstract: Introduction, D.M. Rowe General Principles and Theoretical Considerations Thermoelectric Phenomena, D.D. Pollock Coversion Efficiency and Figure-of-Merit, H.J. Goldsmid Thermoelectric Transport Theory, C.M. Bhandari Optimization of Carrier Concentration, C.M. Bhandari and D.M. Rowe Minimizing the Thermal Conductivity, C.M. Bhandari Selective Carrier Scattering in Thermoelectric Materials, Y.I. Ravich Thermomagnetic Phenomena, H.J. Goldsmid Material Preparation Preparation of Thermoelectric Materials from Melts, A. Borshchevsky Powder Metallurgy Techniques, A.N. Scoville PIES Method of Preparing Bismuth Alloys, T. Ohta and T. Kajikawa Preparation of Thermoelectric Materials by Mechanical Alloying, B.A. Cook, J.L. Harringa, and S.H. Han Preparation of Thermoelectric Films, K. Matsubara, T. Koyanagi, K. Nagao, and K. Kishimoto Measurement of Thermoelectric Properties Calculation of Peltier Device Performance, R.J. Buist Measurements of Electrical Properties, I.A. Nishida Measurement of Thermal Properties, R. Taylor Z-Meters, H.H. Woodbury, L.M. Levinson, and S. Lewandowski Methodology for Testing Thermoelectric Materials and Devices, R.J. Buist Thermoelectric Materials Bismuth Telluride, Antimony Telluride, and Their Solid Solutions, H. Scherrer and S. Scherrer Valence Band Structure and the Thermoelectric Figure-of-Merit of (Bi1-xSbx)Te3 Crystals, M. Stordeur Lead Telluride and Its Alloys, V. Fano Properties of the General Tags System, E.A. Skrabek and D.S. Trimmer Thermoelectric Properties of Silicides, C.B. Vining Polycrystalline Iron Disilicide as a Thermoelectric Generator Material, U. Birkholz, E. Gross, and U. Stohrer Thermoelectric Properties of Anisotropic MnSi1.75 , V.K. Zaitsev Low Carrier Mobility Materials for Thermoelectric Applications, V.K. Zaitsev, S.A. Ktitorov, and M.I. Federov Semimetals as Materials for Thermoelectric Generators, M.I. Fedorov and V.K. Zaitsev Silicon Germanium, C.B. Vining Rare Earth Compounds, B.J. Beaudry and K.A. Gschneidner, Jr. Thermoelectric Properties of High-Temperature Superconductors, M. Cassart and J.-P. Issi Boron Carbides, T.L. Aselage and D. Emin Thermoelectric Properties of Metallic Materials, A.T. Burkov and M.V. Vedernikov Neutron Irradiation Damage in SiGe Alloys, J.W. Vandersande New Materials and Performance Limits for Thermoelectric Cooling, G.A. Slack Thermoelectric Generation Miniature Semiconductor Thermoelectric Devices, D.M. Rowe Commercially Available Generators, A.G. McNaughton Modular RTG Technology, R.F. Hartman Peltier Devices as Generators, G. Min and D.M. Rowe Calculations of Generator Performance, M.H. Cobble Generator Applications Terrestrial Applications of Thermoelectric Generators, W.C. Hall Space Applications, G.L. Bennett SP-100 Space Subsystems, J.F. Mondt Safety Aspects of Thermoelectrics in Space, G.L. Bennett Low-Temperature Heat Conversion, K. Matsuura and D.M. Rowe Thermoelectric Refrigeration Introduction, H.J. Goldsmid Module Design and Fabrication, R. Marlow and E. Burke Cooling Thermoelements with Superconducting Leg, M.V. Vedernikov and V.L. Kuznetsov Applications of Thermoelectric Cooling Introduction, H.J. Goldsmid Commercial Peltier Modules, K.-I. Uemura Thermoelectrically Cooled Radiation Detectors, L.I. Anatychuk Reliability of Peltier Coolers in Fiber-Optic Laser Packages, R.M. Redstall and R. Studd Laboratory Equipment, K.-I. Uemura Large-Scale Cooling: Integrated Thermoelectric Element Technology, J.G. Stockholm Medium-Scale Cooling: Thermoelectric Module Technology, J.G. Stockholm Modeling of Thermoelectric Cooling Systems, J.G. Stockholm
4,192 citations
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that improved cooling values relative to the conventional bulk (Bi,Sb)2(Se,Te)3thermoelectric materials using a n-type film in a one-leg thermoelectrics device test setup, which cooled the cold junction 43.7 K below the room temperature hot junction temperature of 299.8 K.
Abstract: PbSeTe-based quantum dot superlattice structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy have been investigated for applications in thermoelectrics. We demonstrate improved cooling values relative to the conventional bulk (Bi,Sb) 2 (Se,Te) 3 thermoelectric materials using a n-type film in a one-leg thermoelectric device test setup, which cooled the cold junction 43.7 K below the room temperature hot junction temperature of 299.7 K. The typical device consists of a substrate-free, bulk-like (typically 0.1 millimeter in thickness, 10 millimeters in width, and 5 millimeters in length) slab of nanostructured PbSeTe/PbTe as the n-type leg and a metal wire as the p-type leg.
2,371 citations
"Mini-Contact Enhanced Thermoelectri..." refers background in this paper
...Recent developments in solid state thermoelectric coolers (TECs) have shown some promise for the hot-spot thermal management because of their compact size, no moving parts, their high reliability, and their ability to precisely control the chip temperature [4]–[8]....
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TL;DR: In this article, an Au/Cr pattern serves as both a heater and a thermometer, and a microprobe is prepared between the heater and the thin film to extract the Seebeck voltage.
Abstract: A method is developed to simultaneously measure the Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity in the cross-plane direction of thin films and applied to an n-type Si/Ge quantum-dot superlattice. In this method, an Au/Cr pattern serves as both a heater and a thermometer, and a microprobe is prepared between the heater and the thin film to extract the Seebeck voltage. Using a differential measurement between the thin films with different thickness, the temperature and voltage drops across the thin film are determined to deduce its cross-plane thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficient. At room temperature, the cross-plane Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity are 312 μV/K and 2.92 W/mK, respectively, for the n-type Si(75 A)/Ge(15 A) quantum-dot superlattice doped to 8.7×1019 cm−3.
120 citations
TL;DR: An overview of recent advances in solid-state cooling utilizing thin-film silicon germanium-based microrefrigerators is given in this article, where key parameters affecting micro cooler performance are described.
Abstract: An overview of recent advances in solid-state cooling utilizing thin-film silicon germanium-based microrefrigerators is given. Key parameters affecting micro cooler performance are described. A 3-/spl mu/m thick 200/spl times/ (3 nm Si/12 nm Si/sub 0.75/Ge/sub 0.25/) superlattice device can achieve maximum cooling of 4/spl deg/C at room temperature, maximum cooling power density of 600 W/cm/sup 2/ for 40-/spl mu/m diameter device and fast transient response on the order of tens of micro-seconds independent of the device size. Three-dimensional electrothermal simulations show that individual microrefrigerators could be used to remove hot spots in silicon chips with minimal increase in the overall power dissipation.
109 citations