Spot cooling using thermoelectric microcoolers

In this paper, we investigate the possibility of creating spot cooling using thermoelectric microcoolers. An analytical model and a numerical scheme are developed to investigate the steady-state cooling surrounding microcoolers. The effects considered include the thermal and the electrical contact resistances and the spreading heat resistance. Parametric studies are carried out on the influences of the geometry and materials properties on the device performance. Simulation results show that local deep cooling can be reached if heat spreading materials are properly chosen.