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US 6,440,212 B1Granted
Low cost method for making thermoelectric coolers
AssigneeMicroFab Technologies, Inc.
InventorDonald J. Hayes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process of making thermoelectric coolers by direct printing of n- and p-type semiconductor materials suitable for making thermoelectric coolers is disclosed. Micro Jet Printing of arrays on n and p-type materials belong to conductive site pads on non-conductive substrate and crystalization of these materials in the preferred direction as they cool produces thermoelectric cooler components without the need for sawing and machining operations. A non-conductive top substrate having conductive bonding pads is secured to the tops of the columns n and p-type semiconductor materials thereby forming an electrical and physical bond to make a thermoelectric cooler package.
Claims22
A method of fabricating thermoelectric coolers from molten components, comprising:
- providing a plurality of spaced apart conductive site pads on a first substrate;
- holding molten p-type semiconductor material in a digitally driven ejection device having a reservoir in fluid communication with a first ejection orifice;
- holding molten n-type semiconductor material in a digitally driven ejection device having a reservoir in fluid communication with a second ejection orifice;
- holding the first substrate at a crystallization temperature lower than the temperature of the molten semiconductor materials;
- depositing from the first ejection orifice a series of droplets of p-type semiconductor material onto a first conductive site pad on the substrate to freeze it in a column extending away from the first conductive site pad and having a characteristic height terminating at an end;
- and
- depositing from the second ejection orifice a series of droplets of n-type semiconductor material onto the first conductive site pad on the substrate, to freeze it in a column spaced from the column of p-type semiconductor material and extending away from the first conductive site pad and having the same characteristic height terminating at an end.
4 more elements
A method of fabricating thermoelectric coolers from molten components, comprising:
- providing a first non-conductive substrate having a plurality of spaced apart conductive site pads;
- holding one of molten p-type or n-type semiconductor material having a higher freezing temperature in a digitally driven droplet ejection device having a heated reservoir in fluid communication with a first ejection orifice;
- holding the first non-conductive substrate at a crystallization temperature which is lower than the freezing temperature of the molten semiconductor material having the higher freezing temperature;
- forming a column of semiconductor material on each of the plurality of spaced apart conductive site pads on the first non-conductive substrate by depositing droplets of the higher freezing temperature semiconductor material thereon from the first ejection orifice, each column terminating at an end portion and having the same characteristic height;
- holding the other of molten n-type or p-type semiconductor material in a digitally driven droplet ejection device having a heated reservoir in fluid communication with a second ejection orifice;
- holding the first non-conductive substrate at a crystallization temperature which is lower than the freezing temperature of the other of said n-type or p-type semiconductor material;
- forming a separate column of semiconductor material on each of the plurality of spaced apart conductive site pads on the first non-conductive substrate by depositing droplets of the lower freezing temperature semiconductor material thereon from the second ejection orifice, each column terminating at an end portion and having the same characteristic height as the already formed columns of semiconductor material.
4 more elements
A method of fabricating thermoelectric coolers from molten components, comprising:
- providing an array of spaced apart conductive site pads on a first non-conductive substrate;
- holding molten p-type semiconductor material in a digitally driven first ejection device having a reservoir in fluid communication with a first ejection orifice;
- holding molten n-type semiconductor material in a digitally driven second ejection device having a reservoir in fluid communication with a second ejection orifice;
- holding the substrate at a crystallization temperature lower than the temperature of the molten semiconductor materials wherein droplets of the p-type and n-type semiconductor materials deposited on the first non-conductive substrate will freeze in columns extending away from the substrate;
- forming a column of p-type semiconductor material on each of a plurality of adjacent conductive site pads on the first non-conductive substrate by depositing droplets of p-type semiconductor material thereon from the first ejection orifice;
- forming a separate column of n-type semiconductor material on each of the same plurality of adjacent conductive site pads on the first non-conductive substrate by depositing droplets of n-type semiconductor material thereon from the second ejection orifice;
- and
- wherein the columns of p-type and n-type semiconductor material formed on the plurality of conductive site pads are separated columns of about the same length, each column terminating at an end portion.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.