| NANOCOOLING UPDATED DECEMBER 10, 2005 |
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| RTI - Rama Venkatasubramanian - Nextreme Thermal Solutions Breakthroughs in Thermoelectrics Link to article on Rama Venkatasubramanian Link to article on Breakthroughs in Thermoelectrics Link to article on Cold Cathode Emitters Link to RB message email address:[email protected] Cool Operator Interview by Karen Auguston Field Design News June 16, 2003 Link to interview Superlattice Thermoelectric Technology - February 18, 2004 Link to pdf file More efficient and reliable refrigerators and air conditioners a step closer to reality - March, 2003 Link to article Nano-structured Thermoelectric Materials Nano-structured Thermoelectric Materials 8th Diesel Engine Emissions Reduction Conference Loews Coronado Bay Resort San Diego, CA August 25, 2002 Link to PDF PowerPoint file Superlattices Chill Hot Processors By Henry S. Kenyon Tiny heat pumps offer rapid cooling for electronics, fiber optics. Re commercialization Supported by DARPA and ONR funding, the institute has developed several prototype devices to prove the technology works, Venkatasubramanian says. One technology demonstrator built by RTI scientists allows a user to observe a temperature drop or increase when he or she presses a switch or reverses the current. The prototype can generate a cooling of 32 degrees Celsius at room temperature. Beyond this example, the institute is moving quickly to develop the technology for use in existing devices. Solid-state cooling/heating systems for fiber optics and wafer-scale cooling for microchips are the alloy�s most immediate applications. Venkatasubramanian predicts that RTI may have a product ready within a year. Because RTI is a nonprofit research organization, it is spinning off a company to make commercial prototypes. This new firm will conduct prototype fabrication runs and develop a manufacturing plan for producing large volumes of thermoelectric devices. He notes that some 35 companies are interested in the technology. Link to article nanoElectronics & Photonics Forum Conference Full Day Event - Palo Alto, CA - April 15, 2004 Link to Forum Conference Thin-film thermoelectric devices with high room-temperature figures of merit Link to PDF file US PATENTS 6,300,150 Link 6,505,468 Link 6,662,570 Link 6,722,140 Link Nextreme Thermal Solutions Nextreme Thermal Solutions Raises $8 Million in Series A Financing RTI International spin-off to commercialize breakthrough thermoelectric material Link to Nextreme Link to PR |
| SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY April 3, 2000 - Cold Cathode Emitters PLAYING IT COOL In addition to the thermionic work, scientists are studying a similar technology based on so-called cold cathode emitters. These are created from micrometer-sized, pyramid-shaped silicon structures arranged on a silicon platform in an array containing thousands per square centimeter. "Because they are pointed, you get a very strong electric field right at the point, so they emit electrons even when they are cold," Vining says. These devices have been around for years, he notes, but researchers are just beginning to consider their use in cooling applications. Link to article Link to RB message |
| ICURIE LAB HOLDINGS - The Power of Nanotechnology at Work Today Nano-fluidic cooling channels Link to iCurie web site Patents Link to espacenet for patents list Link to US Patent 6,698,502 |
| Sandia - Micro cooling channels for microprocessors A small amount of a cooling fluid--barely a few drops--is injected between the plates; then the edges are sealed. The coolant directly underneath the microchip heats up and evaporates. When the vapor reaches cooler areas, it condenses. Capillary pressure then draws the liquid coolant back to hotter regions where the process repeats. The evaporation and condensation cycle distributes the heat evenly though the substrate. Link to article Link to RB message |
| Tuominen, University of Massachusetts at Amherst US Patent Filing 20020158342 Oct. 31, 2002 FIG. 9 is a diagram of a single-stage thermoelectric cooler which can be made according to the methods described herein. The substrate has electrodes pre-patterned in or on its surface. A patterned diblock copolymer layer is created on the substrate, as described herein. Again, the matrix component of the copolymer is deleted in FIG. 9 for clarity. Nanowires of two types are deposited by programmed electrodeposition. In the depicted example, "n-type" nanowires, made from "n-type" materials, well known in the art, are deposited at one electrode, and "p-type" nanowires, made from "p-type" materials, also well known in the art, are deposited at another electrode. A top-layer metal interconnect is then deposited electrochemically. The device operates through the application of current through the device, so that the top plate becomes cold and the electrodes and substrate become warm. The top plate can be used as a heat sink for use in electronic devices, for example. Multistage coolers can also be made by this fabrication method. Heating devices are also made possible by the simple adaptation of the device for such purposes. Link to US patent filing |
| RTI - Rama Venkatasubramanian, Anser Tech RTI INTERNATIONAL SPINS OUT ANOTHER HIGH-TECH VENTURE RTI is commercializing technology developed by a group of researchers led by Rama Venkatasubramanian. The Triangle Business Journal reported last week that the new company is called Anser Tech and has already raised $3.5 million in venture funding, including investment from The Aurora Funds in Durham. Venkatasubramanian will join the new company as chief technology officer, RTI said. In all, about 20 RTI employees will also work with the startup. Link to article Link to article 2 Link to anser-tech.com |
| NALIN KUMAR, United States Patent Application 20050016575 (PENN STATE and UHV Technologies Inc.) (With a potential NNPP invovement through USP 5,399,238 Kumar, March 21, 1995 ) 95% Carnot efficiency January 27, 2005, Priority Date June 13, 2003 Field emission based thermoelectric device What we claim as our invention is: 1. A device comprising an assembly containing a thermoelectric device and one or more other devices where these other devices act as electrically conducting but thermally insulating elements. 2. A device of claim 1, where the electrically conducting but thermally insulating elements are field emission devices. The tips can be made from either metals such as molybdenum, tungsten, nickel and copper, from semiconductors such as silicon, gallium arsenide and gemanium, or from other materials such as graphite, diamond, carbon nanotubes, or from a combination thereof. [0044] When silicon tips are used, it is possible to obtain large emitted electron current density from these tips at an electric field of 0.5 MV/m (megavolts per meter). Using a device gap of 100 nm and a modest emitted current density of 1 ampere per square cm, we obtain a cooling capacity of almost 1 watt per square cm. Since the applied voltage is only 0.05 volts, the efficiency is almost 95% of the Carnot efficiency. This is much higher than 5-10% for prior art thermoelectric coolers and 40-50% for the mechanical coolers. [0042] Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 6, which is obtained by removing the grid 302 in the device shown in FIG. 3. The device structure depicted schematically is a two electrode configuration, forming a diode. It consists of two metal or ceramic plates 601 and 602 that form the cathode and the anode of the device, respectively. The cathode plate is coated with an electrically conducting layer 603, followed by fabrication of micro-tips 609, made from either metal, carbon nanotubes or silicon. One method for making these types of micro-tips has been described earlier by Kumar in U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,238[NNPP assigned]. Again, the plates are separated by a suitable gap by using electrically and thermally insulating spacers 605, followed by sealing and evacuation of the device. In addition to the absence of the grid, another difference between diode and triode devices is the fact that the anode-cathode gap is very small in the diode devices, on the order of 100-1,000 nanometers (nm). While this is small as compared to the gap in triode devices, the diode gap is still very large as compared to 5-50 nm required by prior art diode type cooler devices taught by Edelson and Cox. Link to US 20050016575 Link to RB message 1 Link to RB message 2 re Penn State involvement Link to Kumar USP 5,399,238 (NNPP) Link to Kumar USP 5,312,514 (NNPP) A HIGHLY EFFICIENT THERMOELECTRIC CRYOCOOLER Nalin Kumar, UHV Technologies, Inc. Link to SBIR grant to UHV Technologies Emissive and Cooling Properties of Carbon Based Materials for Microelectronics N. M. Miskovsky, P. H. Cutler, A. Mayera, and Peter B. Lerner Department of Physics 104 Davey Laboratory The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 ABSTRACT Among carbon-based materials, diamond and nanotubes exhibit field emission characteristics, which can be very useful for applications. Link to paper Link to RB message Starting small, thinking big City-funded incubator aims to foster new technology firms Higgs also ran into Nalin Kumar, president of UHV Technologies in New Jersey, while giving a speech on small-business innovation research. Higgs persuaded the molecular biologist to relocate to Tech Fort Worth. Kumar's small operation had already received a $1 million Defense Department contract to continue development of its nanotechnology. Link to newspaper article on UHV Technologies relocating to Fort Worth dated Jul. 19, 2004 |
| Purdue, Jaeseon Lee, Issam Mudawar Miniature cooling device will have military, computer uses Two-phase flow in high-heat-flux micro-channel heat sink for refrigeration cooling applications Link |