What are Thermoelectric Devices?
What is Sheetak’s Thin-Film Breakthrough?
Convert electrical voltage into temperature difference (cooler) and vice-versa (generator)
The Peltier effect is the cooling of one junction and the heating of the other when electric current is maintained in a circuit of material consisting of two dissimilar semiconductors. This allows the creation of devices that can be used for either cooling or heating, although the former is the more common use…hence the term Peltier Coolers.
The Seebeck effect is the production of an electromotive force (emf) and consequently an electric current in a loop of material consisting of two dissimilar semiconductors when two junctions are maintained at different temperatures. This is the opposite of the Peltier effect, and is used for energy harvesting, for example from excess heat.
TE devices have been around since the 1800s, but recent innovations in nanotechnology & microfabrication have enabled smaller, cheaper and more efficient modules. Sheetak is pioneering this revolution with its breakthrough proprietary technology across bulk cooling and thin film devices.
Sheetak’s Thin-Film TE Devices
An Industry First
- Degenerate semiconductor
- Ohmic contacts with matched work functions
- Low differential operating voltages < 60mV per junction
- Current density < 3×104 A/cm2
- Electromigration/diffusion barriers
Sheetak has employed true thin-film semiconductor fabrication technology to develop thermoelectric devices that are truly groundbreaking.
- Provide better performance and thermal efficiency
- Use 1/1000th the TE material of conventional devices
- Compact geometries enable deployment in smaller instruments
- Hermetically sealed by design
- Designed for precision temperature control applications including optoelectronics components in Telecom, Datacom, and LiDAR applications