Nextreme thermoelectric cooler pumps up to 1.5W

EDN Europe, 27 Mar 2009

This week, at a Fiber Optic Engineering conference, Nextreme Thermal Solutions showed its latest device, the OptoCooler HV14 high voltage, low current, thin-film thermoelectric cooler (TEC) that it designed for cooling and temperature control of optoelectronic devices such as laser diodes for transmission modules and photodiodes for sensing. Achieving a maximum of 60°C temperature difference between its cold and hot sides, the device can pump up to 1.5W of heat at 85°C and operates at a maximum voltage of 2.7V with a maximum current of around 1A in a footprint of 2.8mm2.
Bulk TEC devices are already in use, the company says; however, the micro-size and power-pumping capabilities of the HV14 module, will permit manufacturers of LEDs and other chips to integrate cooling and temperature control directly into the package during assembly, resulting in a high-volume, lower cost thermal management solution.

The device measures 1.63 x 1.87 x 0.650mm footprint; at 25°C it will pump 1.2W of heat. The power that the device consumes to perform the thermal pumping function also appears as heat on the high-temperature side of the module. The ratio of that power relative to the heat pumped gives a measure of efficiency or performance which peaks, the company says, at around 25-30% of full rated values. In use, you would mount the ‘hot’ side of the device to a conventional heatsink, and the ‘cold’ side in close thermal contact with the heat-dissipating component.