Apparatus and method for deep thermoelectric refrigeration
First Claim
1. A compensated thermoelectric cooling unit comprising a plurality of thermally parallel cooling hierarchies each including at least one thermoelectric couple, said unit having a primary cooling hierarchy and at least one auxiliary cooling hierarchy thermally connected in parallel therewith;
- each said thermoelectric couple including a p-leg and an n-leg connected at respective first ends to form respective cold junctions, and electrically connected at respective second ends to produce Peltier cooling at the cold junctions and to produce Joule heating between the first and second ends;
each said auxiliary cooling hierarchy having at least one thermal connector thermally connecting at least one respective cold junction of an auxiliary cooling hierarchy to at least one leg of at least one thermoelectric couple of the immediately preceding cooling hierarchy, said thermal connector thermally connecting to said at least one leg at a discrete position intermediate between the first and second ends thereof, and located where Joule heat traveling towards said first end may be substantially removed through said thermal connector only;
at least one said auxiliary cooling hierarchy having p-legs and n-legs sized to substantially remove Joule heat which is traveling towards said first ends of the immediately preceding cooling hierarchy;
whereby the auxiliary cooling hierarchies are thermally connected in parallel and remove a portion of at least the Joule heat from said primary thermoelectric couple for thermoelectric cooling thereof.
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Abstract
A method which removes the limitations existing on the cooling capability of ordinary TE coolers provides for thermally connecting in parallel a hierarchy of central and auxiliary thermoelectric couples to provide deep cooling of the central thermoelectric couple to temperatures below 100 degrees Kelvin, and as low as 70 degrees Kelvin or lower. These basic deep TE cooling units may serve as constituent components for the construction of one-stage deep TE modules which are capable of relatively high pumping capacity at very low temperatures. The present invention makes deep TE cooling possible with existing thermoelectric materials, and existing high volume semiconductor manufacturing techniques can be adapted for production of the present invention, so that solid state deep TE cooling becomes available for a wide variety of applications, including deep cooling of solid state electronics.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A compensated thermoelectric cooling unit comprising a plurality of thermally parallel cooling hierarchies each including at least one thermoelectric couple, said unit having a primary cooling hierarchy and at least one auxiliary cooling hierarchy thermally connected in parallel therewith;
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each said thermoelectric couple including a p-leg and an n-leg connected at respective first ends to form respective cold junctions, and electrically connected at respective second ends to produce Peltier cooling at the cold junctions and to produce Joule heating between the first and second ends; each said auxiliary cooling hierarchy having at least one thermal connector thermally connecting at least one respective cold junction of an auxiliary cooling hierarchy to at least one leg of at least one thermoelectric couple of the immediately preceding cooling hierarchy, said thermal connector thermally connecting to said at least one leg at a discrete position intermediate between the first and second ends thereof, and located where Joule heat traveling towards said first end may be substantially removed through said thermal connector only; at least one said auxiliary cooling hierarchy having p-legs and n-legs sized to substantially remove Joule heat which is traveling towards said first ends of the immediately preceding cooling hierarchy; whereby the auxiliary cooling hierarchies are thermally connected in parallel and remove a portion of at least the Joule heat from said primary thermoelectric couple for thermoelectric cooling thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A compensated thermoelectric module comprising:
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a plurality of compensated thermoelectric cooling units, each said unit comprising; a plurality of thermally parallel cooling hierarchies each having at least one thermoelectric couple, wherein said plurality of cooling hierarchies includes a primary cooling hierarchy and at least one auxiliary cooling hierarchy thermally connected in parallel therewith; each said thermoelectric couple including a p-leg and an n-leg connected at respective first ends to form respective cold junctions, and electrically connected at respective second ends to produce Peltier cooling at the cold junctions and to produce Joule heating between the first and second ends; each said auxiliary cooling hierarchy having at least one thermal connector thermally connecting at least one respective cold junction of an auxiliary cooling hierarchy to at least one leg of at least one thermoelectric couple of the immediately preceding cooling hierarchy, said thermal connector thermally connecting to said at least one leg at a discrete position intermediate between the first and second ends thereof, and located where Joule heat traveling towards said first end may be substantially removed through said thermal connector only; at least one said auxiliary cooling hierarchy having p-legs and n-legs sized to substantially remove Joule heat which is traveling towards said first ends of the immediately preceding cooling hierarchy; and said plurality of compensated thermoelectric cooling units arranged such that the cold junctions of their respective primary cooling hierarchies cool a common element.
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19. A method for cooling a thermoelectric unit comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of thermoelectric couples each including a p-leg and an n-leg connected at their respective first ends to form respective cold junctions, and electrically connected at their respective second ends to produce Peltier cooling at the cold junctions and Joule heating between the first and second ends; arranging groups of one or more of said thermoelectric couples into a primary cooling hierarchy and at least one auxiliary cooling hierarchy, said step of arranging including; sizing said thermoelectric couples in said at least one auxiliary cooling hierarchy to substantially remove Joule heat which travels toward said first ends; and thermally connecting at least one auxiliary cooling hierarchy generally at its cold junction in parallel with said primary cooling hierarchy at a discrete position between said first and second ends of said primary cooling hierarchy for substantial removal of Joule heat traveling towards said first ends; and operating said thermoelectric couples to produce Peltier cooling at their respective cold junctions and substantially removing with at least one auxiliary cooling hierarchy that portion of Joule heat from the primary hierarchy which otherwise travels toward the cold junction thereof, thereby increasing cooling at the cold junction of the primary cooling hierarchy. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification