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B7: Device and system performance

Active Cooling Capability and Power Generation Characteristics of a Thermoelectric Thin Film Device Surrounding a High-Power LED Chip

J. H. Kim1, D. W. Park1, W. J. Kim1, J. Y. Choi1, T. Jeong2, J. S. Ha3, and T. S. Oh1
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hongik Univ., 2Korea Photonics Technology Institute, 3Faculty of Applied Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National Univ.  

High-power high-brightness light-emitting diode (LED) is the most promising candidate for various lightening applications such as the next-generation general illumination and automotive forward lightening, and LCD back-lightening. The light output characteristics as well as the reliability of an LED chip are largely affected by its junction temperature. As the life time of an LED chip decreases drastically in an exponential manner with increase in its junction temperature, heat dissipation is one of the key factors to ensure the performance and reliability of a high-power high-brightness LED. With the Peltier effect, a thermoelectric thin film device, which pumps heat from a cold junction to a hot junction, can be a suitable tool to enhance the efficient heat dissipation of an LED chip. On the other hand, the heat generated by an LED chip can be utilized as a heat source for thermoelectric power generation. In this work, we fabricated a thermoelectric thin film device consisting of n-type Bi2Te3 and p-type Sb2Te3 thin films around a high-power LED chip on a Si submount. We characterized the active cooling capability of a thermoelectric thin film device by measuring the temperature, thermal resistance, and light output power of an LED chip with varying an operation current of the thin film device. We also measured the output voltage and power produced by the thermoelectric thin film device during operation of an LED chip.

 Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Basic Science Research Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (Project No.: 2011-0029443).