MULTISTAGE THICK FILM THERMOELECTRIC DEVICES
First Claim
1. A multistage thermoelectric cooler, comprisinga plurality of thermoelectric cooling stages comprising at least one p-type leg and an n-type leg coupled to form a p-n junction such that at least a portion of a current flowing, during operation of the cooler, through one stage is coupled into a subsequent stage,wherein at least one of said p or n-type legs forms a unitary structure spanning a plurality of cooling stages.
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Abstract
The present invention generally provides multistage thermoelectric coolers and methods for their fabrication. For example, in one aspect, a multistage thermoelectric cooler is disclosed that includes at least two cooling stages, each of which comprises a p-type leg portion and an n-type leg portion coupled to form a p-n junction. The p-n junctions of the two stages are thermally and electrically coupled such that at least a portion of a current flowing, during operation of the device, through one stage is coupled to the other. Further, at least one of the p- or n-type leg portions of one stage forms a unitary structure with a corresponding p- or n-type leg portion of the other stage.
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Citations
51 Claims
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1. A multistage thermoelectric cooler, comprising
a plurality of thermoelectric cooling stages comprising at least one p-type leg and an n-type leg coupled to form a p-n junction such that at least a portion of a current flowing, during operation of the cooler, through one stage is coupled into a subsequent stage, wherein at least one of said p or n-type legs forms a unitary structure spanning a plurality of cooling stages.
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9. A multistage thermoelectric cooler, comprising:
at least first and second thermoelectric cooling stages comprising at least one p-type thermoelectric leg and one n-type thermoelectric leg coupled to one another so as to form a p-n junction, each leg spanning both stages such that a first portion of each leg extending from one end thereof to said p-n junction belongs to one stage and another portion of that leg extending from said p-n junction to another end thereof belongs to the other stage. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A thermoelectric cooler, comprising
at least two thermoelectric stages, each of said stages comprising a p-type segment and an n-type segment forming a p-n junction, wherein the p-n junctions of the two stages are thermally and electrically coupled, wherein said p-type and n-type segments of the two stages are disposed in substantially a common plane.
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14. A thermoelectric cooler, comprising
at least two cooling stages, each of said stages comprising a p-type segment and an n-type segment forming a p-n junction, wherein the p-n junctions of the two stages are thermally and electrically coupled, wherein at least two of said segments are disposed in separate and substantially parallel planes.
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17. A thermoelectric cooling device, comprising
a plurality of multistage thermoelectric coolers coupled between a cold platform and a hot stage so as to pump heat, in parallel, from the platform to the stage, said thermoelectric coolers being angularly distributed around said platform, wherein each thermoelectric cooler comprises at least first and second cooling stages that are thermally and electrically coupled to one another.
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20. A multistage thermoelectric cooler, comprising
at least two legs one of which is formed of a p-type and the other of an n-type thermoelectric material, each of said legs having a first portion across which a first temperature gradient is generated and a second portion across which a second temperature gradient is generated, said portions forming a contiguous thermoelectric structure, wherein said legs are bonded so as to form an electrically and thermally conductive contact junction.
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31. A multistage thermoelectric cooler, comprising:
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a plurality of legs formed of a p-type thermoelectric material and a plurality of legs formed of an n-type thermoelectric material, said p-type and n-type legs being thermally and electrically linked in a cross-bar configuration to provide a plurality of cascading cooling stages, wherein said p-type and n-type legs are disposed in a common plane. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of fabricating a multistage thermoelectric cooler, comprising
forming two templates each having a plurality of channels therein, filling the channels of one of the templates with a p-type thermoelectric material and those of the other with an n-type thermoelectric material so as to form p and n-type legs having shapes of those channels, and bonding the templates together so as to form contacts between said p-type and n-type legs in a cross-bar configuration pattern.
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45. A method of fabricating a multistage thermoelectric cooler, comprising
depositing a layer of a thermoelectric material on a substrate, forming a patterned mask on said thermoelectric layer to provide exposed and unexposed portions of said layer, introducing dopant ions of a p- or n-type into said exposed portions to generate p-type or n-type thermoelectric legs of said multistage cooler.
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51. A cooling device, comprising
a thermoelectric cooler providing one cooling stage, a multistage thermoelectric cooler thermally coupled to said thermoelectric cooler to provide additional cooling stages, said multistage thermoelectric cooler comprising a plurality of legs formed of a p-type thermoelectric material and a plurality of legs formed of an n-type thermoelectric material, said p-type and n-type legs being thermally and electrically linked in a cross-bar configuration to provide a plurality of cascading cooling stages, wherein said p-type and n-type legs are disposed in a common plane.
Specification