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Self-Assembly for Integration of Microscale Thermoelectric Coolers

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Abstract

Optimum thermoelectric cooling (TEC) solutions often require the integration of component sizes inaccessible by common manufacturing techniques such as thin-film processing and robotic assembly. This work considers an application case in which small elements (100 μm to 300 μm thick) are optimal. A capillary self-assembly process is presented as a potential route to manufacturing TECs in these size ranges. A millimeter-scale demonstration of the assembly concept is presented and Monte Carlo simulation is used to study the scaling of the self-assembly approach to assemblies with more components. While assembly rate and system yield can be a challenge, several approaches are presented for increasing both rate and yield.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33260, USA

    Nathan B. Crane, Pradeep Mishra & Jeffrey L. Murray Jr.

  2. Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33260, USA

    G.S. Nolas

Authors
  1. Nathan B. Crane
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  2. Pradeep Mishra
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  3. Jeffrey L. Murray Jr.
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  4. G.S. Nolas
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Correspondence to Nathan B. Crane.

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Crane, N.B., Mishra, P., Murray, J.L. et al. Self-Assembly for Integration of Microscale Thermoelectric Coolers. J. Electron. Mater. 38, 1252–1256 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-008-0627-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-008-0627-9

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