Field Emission Thermoelectric Coolers

79089B It is estimated that almost 20% of the energy consumed in an average building is used by cooling systems such as air conditioning, refrigerator and freezer. Thus, cooling costs almost $50 billion in electricity bills to American home owners and industry. Any improvement in the efficiency of these cooling systems (heat pumps) will not only reduce energy consumption but also pay dividends in terms of less dependence on foreign fossil fuel and reduced ozone layer depletion. This project will develop an innovative field emission thermoelectric cooler, which will be more efficient, lightweight, does not employ any moving parts, and will have very long life. During Phase I, closely coupled theoretical and experimental investigations will be performed to evaluate the feasibility of assembling a small electronic cooler chip (1 watt or approx. 3.5 BTU/hr) based on silicon field emitters. Phase II, will optimize the cooler device structure and fabricate a 500 BTU/hr cooler module (useful for refrigerators) using large area cathodes. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Applications include air conditioning systems for home, automobiles, businesses, and industrial buildings; direct heat to electricity converters for hybrid/electric vehicles; and coolers for infrared sensors, computer chips, lasers, and other high power electronic devices.