High-performance integrated thermoelectric coolers for electronics cooling

Abstract

Thermoelectric coolers (TECs), which can directly convert energy between electricity and heat, have emerged as a promising solution for electronics cooling. However, the practical application of TECs remains limited due to insufficient cooling performance. Here, we present an integrated water-cooled TEC (i-TEC) with internal flow channels embedded in ceramic substrates, effectively eliminating the limitations of traditional thermal interfaces. The i-TEC achieves superior cooling performance, reducing the temperature of an 80 W heat source by nearly 20 °C compared to conventional TECs and attaining a coefficient of performance up to 3.26. Practical applications demonstrate its capability to lower the maximum temperature of a smartphone by up to 16 °C, significantly enhancing user experience and device stability. These results highlight the great potential of these i-TECs for advanced thermal management in electronic devices.