| NANOTHERMIONIC |
| UPDATED DECEMBER 10, 2005 |
| Sang H. Choi of Langley Research Center Thermo-electron ballistic (TEB) coolers or heaters The combination of ballistic motion and large current density should make it possible for TEB devices to operate at low applied potentials while pumping heat at rates several orders of magnitude greater than those of thermoelectric devices. It may also enable them to operate with efficiency close to the Carnot limit. Electronic heat-transfer devices of a proposed type would exploit some of the quantum-wire-like, pseudo-superconducting properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes. RB Link Direct link |
| Boeing Solid State Thermal Engine United States Patent Application 20040195934 Tanielian, Minas H. October 7, 2004 Abstract The present invention is a solid state thermal engine and method for creating a solid state thermal engine that provides an effective thermal tunneling gap between a hot and cold electrode. The effective gap produced in the present invention is on the order of one nanometer. A via is etched through a first side of first and second substrates, and metal electrodes are attached to a second side of the first and second substrates. The second sides are opposite the first sides. The metal electrodes are mated by bonding the second side of the first substrate to the second side of the second substrate. RB Message Board Link USPTO Link Tanielian Group - Phantom Works - Boeing Borealis priority date is earlier than Tanielian's - subject matter is basically the same |
| BACKGROUND Novel Thermophotovoltaic Device for Direct Heat to Electricity Conversion Status, Plans, Connections to NASA's Mission and Vision and to the Space Architect's Capability Requirements Link |
| Nanalyze postings on thermionic - heat to electric - conversion. Link |
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Tuominen, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, US Patent 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 |
| NALIN KUMAR, United States Patent Application 20050016575 (LIKELY PENN STATE) 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. Link to US 20050016575 Link to RB message 1 Link to RB message 2 re Penn State involvement |
| Nanomaterials draw electricity from heat Tammy Humphrey, University of Wollongong in Australia Heiner Linke, University of Oregon ZT=10 Under these conditions, the thermoelectric device can operate reversibly, which means that it attains the maximum possible efficiency � the Carnot limit (provided that heat leaks due to phonons can be suppressed). Humphrey and Linke calculate that this energy-specific equilibrium could produce a ZT of around 10 at room temperature: a phenomenal enhancement relative to current bulk thermoelectrics. Given that it should not be difficult to make nanostructured materials of this sort � for example, from arrays of quantum dots � we might hope to see the proposal put to the test in the near future. Link to Nature article Link to Nature article via RB message Link to Physical Review Letters Abstract Link to Physical Review Letters Paper Link to Tammy Humprey web site |
| Thermoelectric Cobaltate Thin Films on Silicon Brookhaven National Laboratory Qiang Li Ca3Co4O9 film can be formed on top of an amorphous silicon-oxide layer. Link |
| Cooling of bulk material by electron-tunneling refrigerators A. M. Clark and N. A. Miller National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) A. Williams and S. T. Ruggiero University of Notre Dame G. C. Hilton, L. R. Vale, J. A. Beall, K. D. Irwin, and J. N. Ullom National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) The work is featured in the April 25, 2005, issue of Applied Physics Letters. The NIST-designed refrigerators, each 25 by 15 micrometers, are sandwiches of a normal metal, an insulator and a superconducting metal. When a voltage is applied across the sandwich, the hottest electrons "tunnel" from the normal metal through the insulator to the superconductor. The temperature in the normal metal drops dramatically and drains electronic and vibrational energy from the objects being cooled. Link to article Link to Applied Physics Letters |