Array of Thermoelectric Coolers for On-Chip Thermal Management

Abstract

Site-specific on-demand cooling of hot spots in microprocessors can reduce peak temperature and achieve a more uniform thermal profile on chip, thereby improve chip performance and increase the processor’s life time. An array of thermoelectric coolers (TECs) integrated inside an electronic package has the potential to provide such efficient cooling of hot spots on chip. This paper analyzes the potential of using multiple TECs for hot spot cooling to obtain favorable thermal profile on chip in an energy efficient way. Our computational analysis of an electronic package with multiple TECs shows a strong conductive coupling among active TECs during steady-state operation. Transient operation of TECs is capable of driving cold-side temperatures below steady-state values. Our analysis on TEC arrays using current pulses shows that the effect of TEC coupling on transient cooling is weak. Various pulse profiles have been studied to illustrate the effect of shape of current pulse on the operation of TECs considering crucial parameters such as total energy consumed in TECs peak temperature on the chip, temperature overshoot at the hot spot and settling time during pulsed cooling of hot spots. The square root pulse profile is found to be the most effective with maximum cooling and at half the energy expenditure in comparison to a constant current pulse. We analyze the operation of multiple TECs for cooling spatiotemporally varying hot spots. The analysis shows that the transient cooling using high amplitude current pulses is beneficial for short term infrequent hot spots, but high amplitude current pulse cannot be used for very frequent or long lasting hot spots.

Optimal pulse current shape for transient supercooling of thermoelectric cooler

“…[26] and t 1/2 in Ref. [31]. Thus, the divergence could be attributed to the differences of the boundary conditions and the pulse amplitude and width.…”

“…In addition, they also concluded that the monotonically increasing pulse shape was more appropriate to achieve the maximum supercooling capacity along with the maximum holding duration and the fastest recovery time to the next new steady state. Sullivan et al [31] analyzed and compared four different pulse shapes (t 0 , t 1/2 , t 1 , and t 2 ). They presented that the best cooling at the hot spot was obtained by using square root pulse with a maximum temperature drop of 10.4 C, however, the linear and parabolic pulses cooled the hot spot by 9.7 C and 8.1 C, respectively.…”

“…[26]; while the hot end convective heat transfer coefficient of h ¼ 2050 W m À2 K, cold end cooling rate of q c ¼ 1000 W cm À2 , pulse current varied by 0 A-8 A-0 A, and pulse width t ¼ 0.05 s were assumed in Ref. [31]. The optimal shape was t 2 in Ref.…”

EV Motor Controller Target Cooling by Using Micro Thermoelectric Cooler

“…Sullivan et al [3] used the thin-film thermoelectric cooler (thin film TEC) to carry out the heat dissipation for the chip set of microprocessor through 3x3 matrix arrangement. It was found when 9 Thin film TEC were activated simultaneously, the maximum temperature reduction of the chip would be 11 within 0.03 seconds, but the temperature rise rapidly thereafter.…”

On-Chip Power Generation Using Ultrathin Thermoelectric Generators

“…In our previous work [22,23], we have developed numerical model of a package with embedded TECs. The dimensions and properties of these devices are similar to the devices fabricated by Chowdhury et al [11].…”