UC Santa Cruz

Various parameters affecting the performance of bulk thermoelectric (TE) modules used for integrated circuit (IC) thermal management are studied. An effective circuit model is developed that takes into account various ideal and nonideal effects in the module. It is shown that there is an optimum module thickness and an optimum operating current which depend on the overall heat dissipation and on the external thermal resistances. Optimized TE modules with ZT similar to 0.8, Will have a cross section over leg length ratio of 0.037 in, can increase the chip operation power by 15% in comparison with the case without a TE cooler while maintaining the chip temperature below 100 degrees C. This is for a package thermal resistance of 0.2 K/W. Prospects for TE material with higher ZT values and the effect of contact resistance on the power dissipation density are also discussed. The results presented in this paper can be used in applications other than in the IC thermal management when external thermal resistances dominate the performance of TE modules.