Thermoelectric cooler for providing sub-ambient cooling and method of fabricating same. In one form, sub-micron thermoelectric coolers are formed using doped thin films as thermoelectric elements. The thin film thermoelectric elements are created on thermally and electrical isolating materials using an electrochemical deposition process with a junction formed between the thermoelectric elements. The sub-micron thermoelectric coolers can then be used to locally cool nanoscopic geometric regions such as regions of an integrated circuit or can be configured in an array for large scale microscopic cooling applications.

A thermoelectric device with enhanced structured interfaces for improved cooling efficiency is provided. In one embodiment, the thermoelectric device includes a first thermoelement comprising a supetlattice of p-type thermoelectric material and a second thermoelement comprising superlattice of n-type thermoelectric material. The first and second thermoelements are electrically coupled to each other. The first thermoelement is proximate to, without necessarily being in physical contact with, a first array of electrically conducting tips at a discrete set of points. A planer surface of the second thermoelement is proximate to, without necessarily being in physical contact with, a second array of electrically conducting tips at a discrete set of points. The electrically conducting tips are coated with a material that has the same Seebeck coefficient as the material of the nearest layer of the superlattice to the tip.

A thermoelectric device with improved efficiency is provided. In one embodiment, the thermoelectric device includes a first thermoelement and a second thermoelement electrically coupled to the first thermoelement. An array of first tips are in close physical proximity to, but not necessarily in physical contact with, the first thermoelement at a first set of discrete points. An array of second tips are in close physical proximity to, but not necessarily in physical contact with, the second thermoelement at a second set of discrete points. The first and second conical are constructed entirely from metal, thus reducing parasitic resistances.

Apparatus and method for sub-ambient cooling using thermoelectric dynamics in conjunction with novel configuration schemes to maximize energy transport to thereby increase the efficiency of thermoelectric cooling. In one form, a junction maximizes energy transport being positioned between and coupled to thermoelectric elements having minimal spacing to provide efficient thermoelectric cooling. Preferable implementations provide thermoelectric elements configured such that thermal energy is transferred away from the junction and dissipated by thermal sinks coupled to thermoelectric elements

Thermoelectric cooler for providing sub-ambient cooling to an object and method of fabricating same. In one form, the thermally conducting but electrically insulating substrate interfaces used in conventional thermoelectric coolers are replaced by ultra-thin semiconductor substrates having a plurality of doped regions. Diodes formed in the semiconductor substrates are maintained in a reverse biased state to provide the desired electrical isolation necessary for operating the thermoelectric coolers. The reverse biased state is maintained by either the inherent properties resulting from forming the diode in the semiconductor material or through application of a bias voltage to the semiconductor substrates though a layer of conductive material deposited on the outermost surfaces of the substrates.