Thin-film thermoelectric cooling and heating devices for DNA genomic and proteomic chips, thermo-optical switching circuits, and IR tags

• US 20020174660A1
• Filed: 04/09/2002
• Published: 11/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Laird Thermal Systems, Inc
• Original Assignee: Research Triangle Institute
• Inventors: Venkatasubramanian, Rama
• Granted Patent: US 7,164,077 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/3.7
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0448 Marangoni flow; Thermocapillary effect
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/5085 for multiple samples, e.g. microtitration plates
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 7/52 with provision for submitting samples to a predetermined sequence of different temperatures, e.g. for treating nucleic acid samples amplification or hybridisation processes per se C12Q1/68; controlling sequential reactions for synthesis B01J19/0046
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 7/54 using spatial temperature gradients
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 21/04 reversible
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/95145 Electrostatic alignment, i.e. polarity alignment with Coulomb charges
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/95147 by molecular lock-key, e.g. by DNA
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/38 Cooling arrangements using the Peltier effect
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14649 Infrared imagers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01019 Potassium [K]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01068 Erbium [Er]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01077 Iridium [Ir]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1461 MEMS
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/10 Heating elements characterised by the composition or nature of the materials or by the arrangement of the conductor
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 10/817 the junction being non-separable, e.g. being cemented, sintered or soldered

Abstract

A thermoelectric cooling and heating device including a substrate, a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of the substrate and configured to perform at least one of selective heating and cooling such that each thermoelectric element includes a thermoelectric material, a Peltier contact contacting the thermoelectric material and forming under electrical current flow at least one of a heated junction and a cooled junction, and electrodes configured to provide current through the thermoelectric material and the Peltier contact. As such, the thermoelectric cooling and heating device selectively biases the thermoelectric elements to provide on one side of the thermolectric device a grid of localized heated or cooled junctions.

Claims

1. A thermoelectric cooling and heating device comprising:

a substrate; and

a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of the substrate and configured to perform at least one of selective heating and cooling, each thermoelectric element including,

a thermoelectric material,

a Peltier contact contacting the thermoelectric material and configured to form under electrical current flow at least one of a heated junction and a cooled junction, and

electrodes configured to provide current through the thermoelectric material and the Peltier contact.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric material comprises:

an n-type thermoelectric material; and

a p-type thermoelectric material with the Peltier contact abridging the n-type and p-type thermoelectric materials such that the electrodes contact a side of the n-type thermoelectric material opposite the Peltier contact and a side of the p-type thermoelectric material opposite the Peltier contact.

3. The device of claim 2, further comprising:

a controller configured to selectively bias the electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form said cooled junction and a second direction to form said heated junction.

4. The device of claim 3, further comprising:

a surface header contacting said plurality of thermoelectric elements and having a transverse thermal conductivity across a thickness of said surface header which is higher than a lateral thermal conductivity along a plane of the surface header.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the surface header comprises a high thermal conductivity material in a low thermal conductivity matrix and is patterned on an array grid such that the high thermal conductivity material of the surface header aligns with the thermoelectric elements.

6. The device of claim 2, wherein both the n-type thermoelectric material and the p-type thermoelectric material comprise thin-film thermoelectric layers less than 10 m thick.

7. The device of claim 2, wherein both the n-type thermoelectric material and the p-type thermoelectric material comprise high ZT thermoelectric materials.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the ZT thermoelectric materials comprise superlattice structured thin-film materials.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the superlattice structured thin-film materials comprise high-ZT materials including at least one of Bi₂Te₃-based superlattice materials, Si/Ge superlattice materials, and PbTe-based superlattice materials.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the thin-film thermoelectric materials comprise microelectronically patterned thin-film thermoelectric materials.

11. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a receptacle thermally contacting the thermoelectric elements and including an array of patches configured to receive a biological material.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the patches of the receptacle are aligned with the thermoelectric elements.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the patches are patterned lithographically to have dimensions ranging from 1 to 500 m.

14. The device of claim 11, wherein the biological material includes DNA material for genomics analysis.

15. The device of claim 11, wherein the biological material includes proteins for proteomics analysis.

16. The device of claim 11, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to at least one of heat and cool the biological material.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the patches are configured to receive as the biological material single stranded DNA and the thermoelements are configured to control the temperature of the single stranded DNA for polymorphism conformation.

18. The device of claim 16, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to at least one of heat and cool DNA double-helix material to form single-stranded DNA material.

19. The device of claim 16, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to provide localized thermo-genetic switches to switch at least one of DNA chemistry, DNA-RNA chemistry, protein synthesis, cross conversion dominant genes to recessive genes, and production of antibodies.

20. The device of claim 16, wherein the patches are configured to receive as the DNA material single stranded DNA and the thermoelements are configured to control the temperature of the single stranded DNA for polymorphism conformation.

21. The device of claim 16, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to have a thermal response time less than 1.0 ms.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to heat shock biological material including at least one of DNA material, proteins, and protein-related DNA.

23. The device of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to provide an offset voltage to selected thermoelectric elements in order to spot-charge the selected thermoelectric elements.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to at least one of heat and cool the biological material.

25. The device of claim 24, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to have a thermal response time less than 1.0 ms.

26. The device of claim 25, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to heat shock biological material including at least one of DNA material, proteins, and protein-related DNA.

27. The device of claim 24, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to provide localized thermo-genetic switches to switch at least one of DNA chemistry, DNA-RNA chemistry, protein synthesis, cross conversion dominant genes to recessive genes, and production of antibodies.

28. The device of claim 24, wherein the patches are configured to receive as the DNA material single stranded DNA and the thermoelements are configured to control the temperature of the single stranded DNA for polymorphism conformation.

29. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a microsurgical tool thermally contacting the thermoelectric elements and configured to control the temperature of bio-tissues in contact with the microsurgical tool.

30. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a thermo-optic phase shifter in thermal contact with the plurality of thermoelectric elements and configured to vary an index of refraction of an optical medium via temperature variations.

31. The device of claim 30, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to heat the thermo-optic phase shifter.

32. The device of claim 30, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to cool the thermo-optic phase shifter.

33. The device of claim 30, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to cycle a temperature of the thermo-optic phase shifter.

34. The device of claim 33, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to have a thermal response time less than 1.0 ms.

35. The device of claim 30, wherein the thermo-optic phase shifter includes fluorinated polymers with larger thermo-optic coefficients than silica glasses.

36. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one laser thermally coupled to the plurality of thermoelectric elements and having a semiconductor material defining a band gap varied by temperature variations of the thermoelectric elements so as to control a lasing frequency of the at least one laser.

37. The device of claim 36, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to heat the at least one laser.

38. The device of claim 36, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to cool the at least one laser.

39. The device of claim 36, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to cycle a temperature of the at least one laser.

40. The device of claim 39, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to have a thermal response time less than 1.0 ms.

41. The device of claim 36, wherein the laser is a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser.

42. The device of claim 36, wherein the laser is a distributed feedback laser.

43. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

an integrated module including at least one electronic component in thermal contact with the plurality of thermoelectric elements and configured to control a temperature of the at least one electronic component of the integrated module.

44. The device of claim 43, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to selectively heat the at least one electronic component.

45. The device of claim 43, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to selectively cool the at least one electronic component.

46. The device of claim 43, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to selectively maintain a temperature of the at least one electronic component.

47. The device of claim 43, wherein the integrated module comprises an electronics module.

48. The device of claim 47, wherein the at least one electronic component includes at least one of a diode, a capacitor, a inductor, a filter network, a memory chip, and a CPU chip.

49. The device of claim 43, wherein the integrated module comprises an optoelectronics module.

50. The device of claim 49, wherein the optoelectronics module includes at least one of a bias circuit, a laser driver, a monitor diode, a VCSEL array, an out-going optical connector, an in-coming optical connector, a photodetector, a pre-amplification circuit, and a post-amplification circuit.

51. The device of claim 43, wherein the integrated module comprises an infrared imaging array.

52. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a switching optical network including optical switches in thermal contact with the plurality of thermoelectric elements and configured to control a temperature of the optical switches in the switching optical network.

53. The device of claim 52, wherein the optical switches comprise electroholographic optical switches.

54. The device of claim 52, wherein the electroholographic optical switches comprise potassium lithium tantalate niobate crystals.

55. The device of claim 52, wherein the optical switches comprise thermocapillary switches.

56. The device of claim 55, wherein the optical switches comprise bubblejet switches.

57. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a cellular communications network including micro-strip delay lines in thermal contact with the plurality of thermoelectric elements and configured to control a temperature of the micro-strip delay lines in the cellular communications network.

59. The method of claim 58, further comprising:

exposing, between the steps of heating and cooling, attached biological material to UV light to promote cross-linking to the selected sites.

60. The method of claim 58, wherein the steps of cooling and heating comprises:

controlling a temperature at the selected sites with a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of a substrate and configured to perform at lest one of selected heating and cooling.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the step of controlling further comprises:

biasing selectively electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form a cooled junction and a second direction to form a heated junction.

62. The method of claim 58, wherein the step of cooling includes the step of:

attaching as the biological material at least a first set of DNA strands and a first set of proteins.

63. The method of claim 58, wherein the step of cooling comprises:

attaching the biological material utilizing at least one of charge-bonding and electrovalent bonding.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the step of attaching further comprises:

providing, prior to the step of cooling, lysine on the array; and

cross-linking the biological material to the lysine with UV light exposure.

65. The method of claim 58, further comprising:

biasing the selected elements to pool the biological material at the selected sites.

58. A method for self-assembling biological material onto an array, comprising:

depositing the biological material across at least a part of the array;

cooling selected sites on the array to attach a first set of biological material onto the selected sites; and

heating the selected sites to detach biological material which is not cross-linked to the selected sites.

66. A method for hybridizing DNA, comprising:

depositing a first set of DNA strands across at least a part of a DNA array;

cooling selected sites on the DNA array to attach the first set of DNA strands onto the selected sites;

heating the selected sites to unravel the attached strands of DNA and to detach strands of DNA which are not cross-linked to the selected sites; and

hybridizing the attached strands of DNA with a second set of DNA strands.

67. The method of claim 66, further comprising:

exposing, between the steps of heating and cooling, attached DNA strands to UV light to promote cross-linking to the selected sites.

68. The method of claim 66, wherein the steps of cooling and heating comprises:

controlling a temperature at the selected sites with a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of a substrate and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein the step of controlling further comprises:

biasing selectively electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form a cooled junction and a second direction to form a heated junction.

70. The method of claim 66, wherein the step of cooling comprises:

attaching the first set of DNA strands utilizing at least one of charge-bonding and electrovalent bonding.

71. The method of claim 70, wherein the step of attaching further comprises:

providing, prior to the step of cooling, lysine on the array, and cross-linking the first set of DNA strands to the lysine with UV light exposure.

72. The method of claim 66, further comprising:

biasing the selected elements to the DNA at the selected sites.

73. A method for controlling temperature during electrophoresis of a biological material onto an array, comprising:

depositing electrophoretically biological material across at least a part of the array;

cooling selected sites on the array during the electrophoresis to attach a first set of biological material onto the selected sites; and

heating the selected sites to detach biological material which is not cross-linked to the selected sites.

74. The method of claim 73, further comprising:

exposing, between the steps of heating and cooling, attached biological material to UV light to promote cross-linking to the selected sites.

75. The method of claim 73, wherein the steps of cooling and heating comprises:

controlling a temperature at the selected sites with a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of a substrate and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling.

76. The method of claim 75, wherein the step of controlling further comprises:

biasing selectively electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form a cooled junction and a second direction to form a heated junction.

77. The method of claim 73, wherein the step of cooling includes the step of:

attaching as the biological material at least a first set of DNA strands and a first set of proteins.

78. The method of claim 73, wherein the step of cooling comprises:

attaching the biological material utilizing at least one of charge-bonding and electrovalent bonding.

79. The method of claim 78, wherein the step of attaching further comprises:

providing, prior to the step of cooling, lysine on the array; and

cross-linking the biological material to the lysine with UV light exposure.

80. The method of claim 73, further comprising:

biasing the selected elements to pool the biological material at the selected sites.

81. A method for optical waveguide switching, comprising:

controlling a temperature at selected sites of an optical waveguide switching element; and

switching optically a direction of light in the optical waveguide switching element via a change in an index of refraction of the optical waveguide switching element.

82. The method of claim 81, wherein the step of controlling a temperature comprises:

controlling the temperature with a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of a substrate and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling.

83. The method of claim 82, wherein the step of controlling further comprises:

biasing selectively electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form a cooled junction and a second direction to form a heated junction.

84. A method for controlling laser frequency, comprising:

controlling a temperature of a semiconductor lasing material to change the laser frequency via a change in a bandgap of the semiconductor lasing material.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein the step of controlling a temperature comprises:

controlling the temperature with a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of a substrate and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling.

86. The method of claim 85, wherein the step of controlling further comprises:

biasing selectively electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form a cooled junction and a second direction to form a heated junction.

87. A method for producing an infrared image, comprising:

providing an array of thermoelectric elements; and

controlling a temperature at selected sites on the array of thermoelectric elements.

88. The method of claim 87, wherein the step of controlling a temperature comprises:

controlling a plurality of said thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of a substrate and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling.

89. The method of claim 88, wherein the step of controlling further comprises:

biasing selectively electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form a cooled junction and a second direction to form a heated junction.

90. A method for switching in an optical network, comprising:

controlling a temperature at selected sites of the optical network; and

switching optically a direction of light in the optical network via a change in temperature of at least one of a thermocapillary switch and a bubblejet switch of the optical network.

91. The method of claim 90, wherein the step of controlling a temperature comprises:

controlling the temperature with a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of a substrate and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling.

92. The method of claim 91, wherein the step of controlling further comprises:

biasing selectively electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form a cooled junction and a second direction to form a heated junction.

93. A method for improving cellular communications, comprising:

providing an array of thermoelectric elements thermally connected to a micro-strip delay line; and

controlling a temperature of the micro-strip delay line in a cellular communications system.

94. The method of claim 93, wherein the step of controlling a temperature comprises:

controlling the temperature with a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of a substrate and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling.

95. The method of claim 94, wherein the step of controlling further comprises:

biasing selectively electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form a cooled junction and a second direction to form a heated junction.

96. A method for controlling temperature of a micro-surgical device, comprising:

providing an array of thermoelectric elements thermally connected to the micro-surgical device; and

spatially controlling a temperature of the micro-surgical device.

97. The method of claim 96, wherein the step of controlling a temperature comprises:

controlling the temperature with a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of a substrate and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling.

98. The method of claim 97, wherein the step of controlling further comprises:

biasing selectively electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form a cooled junction and a second direction to form a heated junction.

99. A system for self-assembling biological material onto an array, comprising:

a depositing device configured to deposit the biological material across at least a part of the array;

means for cooling selected sites on the array to attach a first set of biological material onto the selected sites; and

means for heating the selected sites to detach biological material which is not cross-linked to the selected sites.

100. The system of claim 99, wherein the means for cooling and the means for heating comprise:

a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling of the array; and

a controlling device configured to control a temperature at the selected sites with a thermoelectric cooler.

102. The system of claim 100, wherein the means for cooling and the means for heating comprise:

a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling of the array; and

a controlling device configured to control a temperature at the selected sites with a thermoelectric cooler.

101. A system for hybridizing DNA material, comprising:

a depositing device configured to deposit a first set of DNA strands across at least a part of a DNA array;

means for cooling selected sites on the DNA array to attach the first set of DNA strands onto the selected sites;

means for heating the selected sites to unravel the attached strands of DNA and to detach strands of DNA which are not cross-linked to the selected sites; and

means for hybridizing the attached strands of DNA with a second set of DNA strands.

103. A system for controlling temperature during electrophoresis of a biological material onto an array, comprising:

a depositing device configured to deposit electrophoretically biological material across at least a part of the array;

means for cooling selected sites on the array during the electrophoresis to attach a first set of biological material onto the selected sites; and

means for heating the selected sites to detach biological material which is not cross-linked to the selected sites.

104. The system of claim 103, wherein the means for cooling and the means for heating comprise:

a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling of the array; and

a controlling device configured to control a temperature at the selected sites with a thermoelectric cooler.

105. The system of claim 103, wherein the means for heating is configured to heat shock biological material.

106. A system for optical waveguide switching, comprising:

a controlling device configured to control a temperature at selected sites of an optical waveguide switching element; and

a switching device configured to switch optically a direction of light in the optical waveguide switching element via a change in an index of refraction of at least a part of the optical waveguide switching element.

107. The system of claim 106, wherein the controlling device comprises:

a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements thermally in contact with the selected sites and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling of the switching device.

108. A system for controlling laser frequency, comprising:

a controlling device configured to control a temperature of a semiconductor lasing material to change the laser frequency via a change in a bandgap of the semiconductor lasing material.

109. The system of claim 108, wherein the controlling device comprises:

a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements thermally in contact with the semiconductor lasing material and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling of the semiconductor lasing material.

110. A system for producing an infrared image, comprising:

an array of thermoelectric elements, and

a controlling device configured to control a temperature at selected sites on the array of thermoelectric elements.

111. The system of claim 110, wherein the controlling device comprises:

a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements thermally in contact with the selected sites and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling one side of the array.

113. The system of claim 112, wherein the controlling device comprises:

a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements thermally in contact with the at least one switching device and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling of the at least one switching device.

115. The system of claim 114, wherein the cellular communication system is spread spectrum system.

116. The system of claim 114, wherein the controlling device comprises:

a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements thermally in contact with the at least one micro-strip delay line and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling of the at least one micro-strip delay line.

118. The system of claim 117, wherein the controlling device comprises:

a thermoelectric cooler including a plurality of thermoelectric elements in thermal contact with the micro-surgical device and configured to perform at least one of selected heating and cooling one side of the micro-surgical device.

120. The device of claim 119, wherein the cantilever is configured to spot cool and spot heat parts of a cell of said sample.

121. The device of claim 119, wherein the cantilever is configured to conduct a heat flux of 0.1 to 2000 W/cm².

122. The device of claim 119, wherein the cantilever comprises a material having a spring constant of less than 1 N/m.

123. The device of claim 119, wherein the cantilever comprises a high thermal conductivity material having a thermal conductivity greater than 0.75 W/cm-K.

124. The device of claim 119, wherein the cantilever comprises a material whose surface has a surface emissivity of less than 0.3.

125. The device of claim 119, wherein the cantilever comprises a low density material having a density of less than 3.0 gm/cm³.

126. The device of claim 119, further comprising:

a current supply configured to drive a current through the plurality of thermoelectric elements to enable voltage detection of external heat loads supplied to the thermoelectric elements by the cantilever.

127. The device of claim 126, wherein the current supply is configured to enable voltage detection from an inorganic specimen.

128. The device of claim 126, wherein the current supply is configured to enable voltage detection from an organic specimen.

129. The device of claim 128, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to detect an amount of heat on the order of a picoJoule released in chemical reactions in the organic specimen.

130. The device of claim 128, wherein the thermoelectric elements are configured to detect an amount of heat on the order of a femtoJoule released in chemical reactions in the organic specimen.

131. The device of claim 119, wherein the thermoelectric material comprises:

an n-type thermoelectric material; and

a p-type thermoelectric material with the Peltier contact abridging the n-type and p-type thermoelectric materials such that the electrodes contact a side of the n-type thermoelectric material opposite the Peltier contact and a side of the p-type thermoelectric material opposite the Peltier contact.

132. The device of claim 131, further comprising:

a controller configured to selectively bias the electrodes of each of the thermoelectric elements in at least one of a first direction to form said cooled junction and a second direction to form said heated junction.

133. The device of claim 131, further comprising:

a surface header contacting said plurality of thermoelectric elements and having a transverse thermal conductivity across a thickness of said surface header which is higher than a lateral thermal conductivity along a plane of the surface header.

134. The device of claim 133, wherein the surface header comprises a high thermal conductivity material in a low thermal conductivity matrix and is patterned on an array grid such that the high thermal conductivity material of the surface header aligns with the thermoelectric elements.

135. The device of claim 131, wherein both the n-type thermoelectric material and the p-type thermoelectric material comprise thin-film thermoelectric layers less than 10 μ

m thick.

136. The device of claim 131, wherein both the n-type thermoelectric material and the p-type thermoelectric material comprise high ZT thermoelectric materials.

137. The device of claim 131, wherein both the n-type thermoelectric material and the p-type thermoelectric material comprise materials having a Seebeck coefficient greater than 200 uV/K.

138. The device of claim 136, wherein the ZT thermoelectric materials comprise superlattice structured thin-film materials.

139. The device of claim 138, wherein the superlattice structured thin-film materials comprise high-ZT materials including at least one of Bi₂Te₃-based superlattice materials, Si/Ge superlattice materials, and PbTe-based superlattice materials.

140. The device of claim 119, wherein the thin-film thermoelectric materials comprise microelectronically patterned thin-film thermoelectric materials.

141. The device of claim 119, wherein the cantilever comprises a tip having dimensions in the range of nanometers.

112. A system for switching in an optical network, comprising:

a controlling device configured to control a temperature at selected sites of the optical network; and

at least one switching device configured to switch optically a direction of light in the optical network via a change in temperature of at least one of a thermocapillary switch and a bubblejet switch of the optical network.

114. A system for improving cellular communications, comprising:

a controlling device configured to control a temperature of at least one micro-strip delay line in a cellular communications system.

117. A system for controlling temperature of a micro-surgical device, comprising:

an array of thermoelectric elements thermally connected to the micro-surgical device; and

a controlling device configured to control spatially a temperature of a micro-surgical device.

119. A thermoelectric device comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged on one side of the substrate and configured to perform at least one of selective heating and cooling, each thermoelectric element including,

a thermoelectric material,

a Peltier contact contacting the thermoelectric material and configured to form under electrical current flow at least one of a heated junction and a cooled junction, and

electrodes configured to provide current through the thermoelectric material and the Peltier contact; and

a cantilever configured to thermally connect the thermoelectric elements to a sample.