The Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins University in the United States has developed a novel solid-state thermoelectric cooling technology that uses nanoengineered materials - controlled layered engineered superlattice structures (CHESS), with an efficiency twice that of commercial bulk thermoelectric material devices. This achievement was published in Nature Communications, marking an important breakthrough for thermoelectric cooling technology towards high efficiency and practicality.
The CHESS material, based on over a decade of APL research accumulation, was initially used in the field of national security and later expanded to applications such as medical cooling. This technology is prepared by the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process, which is mature and easy to be mass-produced.
In standardized tests, the CHESS material demonstrated a nearly doubling material-level efficiency improvement at room temperature. The refrigeration module constructed based on this material has achieved a 75% increase in equipment efficiency and a 70% improvement in the overall system efficiency, demonstrating significantly superior performance compared to traditional thermoelectric equipment.
The material consumption of the refrigeration unit in this film technology is extremely low, only about 0.003 cubic centimeters, which is conducive to large-scale production through semiconductor processes and significantly reduces costs. The CHESS technology can be expanded to a wide range of application scenarios in the future, from small refrigeration equipment to large building HVAC systems. It can even be used to convert temperature differences into electrical energy, serving fields such as energy harvesting, wearable devices, and aerospace.
APL stated that it will continue to promote the application of this material in the fields of refrigeration and energy harvesting, and further cooperate with the industry to advance its large-scale manufacturing and practical application.
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