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Thermoelectric
Modules About Laird Technologies Benefits of Using
Laird Technologies designs and manufactures customized, performance-critical
Thermoelectrics
products for wireless and other advanced electronics applications.
TEMs have several advantages over alternate cooling technologies:
Laird Technologies is a global technology company focused on providing
They have no moving parts, so the solid state construction results in high
components and solutions that protect electronic devices from electromagnetic
reliability and units can be mounted in any orientation.
interference and heat, and that enable connectivity through wireless
TEMs can cool devices down to well below ambient. Colder
applications and antenna systems.
temperatures can be achieved, down to minus 100C, by using a
multistage thermoelectric module in a vacuum environment.
Custom products are supplied to all sectors of the electronics industry including
the handset, telecommunications, data transfer and information technology,
Thermoelectrics are able to heat and cool by simply reversing the polarity,
automotive, aerospace, defense, consumer, medical, mining, railroad and
which changes the direction of heat transfer. This allows temperature
industrial markets.
control to be very precise, where up to 0.01C can be maintained
under steady-state conditions.
Laird Technologies partners with its customers to design custom thermal
In heating mode, TEMs are much more efficient than conventional
solutions for applications in many industries including:
resistant heaters because they generate heat from input power supplied
plus additional heat generated by the heat pumping action.
Clinical Diagnostics Analytical Instrumentation
Devices are environmentally friendly because they use no CFCs and
Medical Imaging Semiconductor Fabrication
electrical noise is minimal.
Electronic Enclosure Cooling Aerospace Defense
Photonics Laser Systems Food & Beverage
TEMs can be used as energy harvesters, turning waste heat into usable
Telecommunications Automotive
output DC power.
As an industry leader in high-performance and cost-effective Thermal
Management Solutions, Laird Technologies provides the knowledge, innovation,
and resources to ensure exceptional thermal performance and customer
satisfaction for applications in the medical, analytical,telecom, industrial, and
consumer markets.
A Brief Introduction to
Thermoelectrics
Solid state heat pumps have been in existence since the discovery of the Peltier
effect in 1834. The devices became commercially available several decades ago
with the development of advanced semiconductor thermocouple materials in
combination with ceramics substrates. Thermoelectric modules (TEMs) are solid-
state heat pumps that require a heat exchanger to dissipate heat utilizing the
Peltier Effect. During operation, DC current flows through the TEM to create heat
transfer and a temperature differential across the ceramic substrates, causing
one side of the TEM to be cold, while the other side is hot. A standard single-
stage TEM can achieve temperature differentials of up to 70C.
A typical TEMs geometric footprint can vary from 2 x 2 mms to 62 x 62 mms
and are light in weight. This makes thermoelectrics ideal for applications with
tight geometric space constraints and low weight requirements when compared
to much larger cooling technologies, such as conventional compressor-based
systems. TEMs can also be used as a power generator to convert waste heat into
usable output DC power.
Thermoelectrics are ideal for applications that require active cooling to below
ambient and have cooling capacity requirements of up to 600 Watts. A design
engineer should consider TEMs when the system design criteria includes such
factors as precise temperature control, high reliability, compact geometry
constraints, low weight and environmental friendly requirements.