A Novel VLSI Technology to Manufacture High-Density Thermoelectric Cooling Devices

This paper describes a novel integrated circuit technology to manufacture high-density thermoelectric devices on a semiconductor wafer. With no moving parts, a thermoelectric cooler operates quietly, allows cooling below ambient temperature, and may be used for temperature control or heating if the direction of current flow is reversed. By using a monolithic process to increase the number of thermoelectric couples, the proposed solid-state cooling technology can be combined with traditional air cooling, liquid cooling, and phase-change cooling to yield greater heat flux and provide better cooling capability.