New thermoelectric cooling breakthrough nearly doubles efficiency
6 hours ago
- #energy-efficiency
- #nano-engineering
- #thermoelectric-cooling
- Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL developed CHESS thin-film materials, nearly doubling refrigeration efficiency compared to traditional methods.
- CHESS technology is scalable and versatile, with potential applications from household cooling to space exploration.
- The new thermoelectric refrigeration technology is twice as efficient as devices made with commercially available bulk thermoelectric materials.
- CHESS materials use remarkably less material, about the size of a grain of sand per refrigeration unit, enabling mass production.
- The technology was validated through collaboration with Samsung Research, showing significant improvements in efficiency and heat-pumping capacity.
- CHESS materials were created using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), a scalable and cost-effective manufacturing method.
- Future applications include larger-scale refrigeration systems, energy harvesting, and integration with AI for optimized cooling efficiency.
- The technology also has potential for converting temperature differences into usable power, benefiting prosthetics and human-machine interfaces.