Peltier cooling stage utilizing a superconductor-semiconductor junction

A Peltier cooling stack comprising:

• a first electrode;
• a plurality of superconducting layers, a first one of said plurality of superconducting layers electrically coupled to said first electrode;
• a plurality of semiconducting layers, said pluralities of superconducting and semiconducting layers comprising an alternating sequence of semiconducting and superconducting layers, each layer of one of said pluralities being disposed adjacent to and electrically coupled with a layer from said other plurality of layers to comprise a series of Peltier junctions, one Peltier junction being formed between each electrically coupled and adjacent pair of said semiconducting and superconducting layers;
• and
• a second electrode electrically coupled to a last one of said layers of said plurality of superconducting layer, electrons flowing under an applied voltage from said first electrode through said alternating sequence of superconducting and semiconducting layers, the Peltier junctions between a first set of said superconducting layer and semiconductor layers providing Peltier cooling while said Peltier junctions between a second set of said semiconductor and superconducting layers providing Peltier heating.

A Peltier cooling stack comprising:

• a plurality of thin film yttrium-barium-copper oxide ceramic high temperature superconducting layers;
• a plurality of layers of insulating material;
• a plurality of normal conducting metallic thin films;
• and
• a plurality of planar semiconductor wafers, said plurality of superconducting layers and semiconducting wafers forming an alternating array of one of said superconducting layers electrically coupled to and adjacent to one of said semiconducting layers electrically coupled to an adjacent to a following one of said superconducting layers and so forth, with a separate metallic thin film positioned between portions of adjacently disposed semiconducting and superconducting layers and a separate layer of insulating material positioned between remaining portions of said adjacently disposed layers, wherein said superconducting and semiconducting layers are electrically coupled together only through said normally conducting metal thin films,
• thereby providing a practical cryogenic Peltier cooling stack.

A method of fabricating a Peltier cooling stack comprising the steps of:

• assembling an alternating array of rare earth- barium-copper oxide superconductor thin films and semiconductor planar wafers, each superconducting film being adjacent to, electrically coupled to and preceding in said array a semiconductor wafer, each semiconductor wafer in turn being adjacent to and electrically coupled to a following superconducting thin film, each semiconductor wafer and superconducting thin film being separated by an insulating layer within said array except along a predetermined edge wherein is disposed a thin film metallic strip, said metallic strips disposed between each of semiconducting and superconducting layers arranged and configured in two sets, a first set disposed at one edge of said superconducting film and semiconducting wafers and a second set disposed at the opposite distal edge of said superconducting films and semiconducting layers, said first and second sets of normally conducting metallic strips forming an alternating array, said first set comprising a plurality of cold Peltier junctions and said second set comprising plurality of hot Peltier junctions;
• brazing said plurality of semiconductor wafers, superconducting films and metallic strips together;
• and
• simultaneously pressing said plurality of semiconductor wafers and superconducting films and metallic strips together during said step of brazing.