Carbon Nanotubes for Active Refrigeration and Cooling in Micro and Mesoscale Systems

Abstract

With the development of micro and mesoscale electronics, photonics and optoelectronics, the heat management in such small scales are becoming important. In several emergent areas such as quantum computing and communication, satellite controlling and sensing, the overall refrigeration or cooling rate is having a priority over the energy consumption efficiency. Beyond the passive heat draining, active solid-state refrigeration and cooling based on the Peltier effect have been attractive. We are here suggesting the materials system of carbon nanotubes. By incorporating the energy sensitivity of transport into the thermopower investigation, we have found that the active refrigeration and cooling rates are better than or as least similar to the thermal conductivity of commonly used functional metals, especially at and above the room temperature. The performance is also robust against the fluctuation of band gap introduced during the batch synthesis of carbon nanotubes. Furthermore, the p-and n-type regions have similar performance in thermoelectric refrigeration and cooling, which is providing convenience for the ultimate device design and manufacturing.

Theoretical and experimental investigations of enhanced carbon nanotube-gold interface conductivity through nitrogen doping

“…Due to their enormous thermal conductivity, surface area, outstanding mechanical strength, and exceptionally high carrier mobility, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have received a lot of interest. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] They are widely used in electronic devices, such as nanoelectronics, energy conversion/storage, sensors, catalysis, and flexible electronics, and are thought to be a good replacement for silicon-based materials due to its ultra-high carrier mobility in integrated circuits. 8 Therefore, establishing high-quality conductive channels between carbon nanotubes and metal electrodes in electronic devices and integrated circuits is very important and challenging.…”