Experimental demonstration of thermal management using thermoelectric generation

It has been well established that thermal management of electronic equipment is a critical need for the continued success of the microelectronics industry. Portable electronic devices, such as notebook computers and cellular telephones, require that the thermal solution be small, light, and energy efficient. Small-scale thermoelectric (TE) modules can be used to generate electricity from the waste heat of the microprocessor. The electricity can then be used to power the thermal solution. The concept of using a TE module to generate electricity from the waste heat of a microprocessor in a notebook computer class device is discussed by Solbrekken, et. al. In that study, the ´shunt attach´ design configuration is introduced and parametrically explored. Using the models developed in that study, a prototype is designed such that a 25 W processor is kept below 85°C in a 25°C ambient using ´heat-driven cooling´. The prototype built using off-the-shelf TE modules verifies that a 25 W microprocessor can be kept below 85°C in a 25°C ambient, cooled solely by a fan driven with TE generated electricity.