Abstract:
A semiconductor device has a cooling circuit located around a semiconductor circuit on the first surface. The cooling circuit includes a cooling cell with a semiconductor area of a second conductivity type and first and second conductors in parallel alignment, and located within the semiconductor area, and spaced apart from each other by a segment of the semiconductor area. The segment has a predetermined width, L, with the width L being predetermined so that the segment becomes substantially depleted when the cooling circuit is in operation.

Description:
[0001]     This application relates to another patent application titled High Efficiency Semiconductor Cooling Device, filed on the same date, and claims the benefits of Provisional application 60/400,152. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The invention relates generally to a thermoelectric cooling device and more generally it relates to a device that allows heat to be converted to electricity with efficiency approaching the efficiency of the electric transformers.  
         [0003]     Thermoelectric devices have been in use for years. Number of domestic and foreign organizations are manufacturing and marketing thermoelectric devices. Applications vary from small consumer-type refrigerators to precise aerospace temperature control systems. A thermoelectric cooler or heater (thermoelectric module or thermoelectric device) is a component that functions as a small heat pump. By applying a DC voltage to a thermoelectric module, heat will be moved through the module from one end to another. One module end, therefore, will be cooled while the opposite end will be heated. This phenomenon is reversible, whereby a change in polarity will cause heat to be moved in opposite direction. Consequently, a thermoelectric device may be used for both heating and cooling thereby making it highly suitable for precise temperature control application. In view of this definition and for readability the term “thermoelectric cooler” shall be generic, and mean either a heater or cooler.  
         [0004]     Views of a few commercially available thermoelectric devices are presented in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 .  
         [0005]     In  FIG. 1  there is shown a four stage thermoelectric device  10  reaching temperatures of −120° C. The device shown in  FIG. 2  is a three stage thermoelectric device  17  producing temperature of about −90° C. with a small load and in  FIG. 3 , there is depicted a single layer thermoelectric device  17  capable of producing negative temperature of −40° C. Thus, it is the amount of cooling produced by a device that is dependent on the number of stages.  
         [0006]     In  FIG. 4  there is presented a view of a single thermoelectric device.  FIG. 4   a  illustrates an upper supporting ceramic plate  16  onto which a conductive pattern  17  is deposited and highlighted in  FIG. 4   b.    FIG. 4   c  shows an array of “p” and “n” types of thermoelectric columns  18 , which are electrically connected by deposited conductive patters  17  and  19 . Plate  20  of  FIG. 4   e  is the bottom plate, which carries the conductive layer from array of “p” and “n” types of thermoelectric columns. And  FIG. 4   f  shows a composite view of device assembly  21 .  
         [0007]     Thermoelectric energy conversion is the interconversion of heat and electrical energy for power generation or heat pumping and is based on the Seebeck and Peltier effects. In the early 1950s, progress led to the development of semiconductor thermo elements with the results that reasonably efficient thermoelectric devices could be constructed. Metallic thermocouples provide only very low efficiencies, the most favorable being combination of bismuth and antimony, which provide efficiencies of approximately 1%; selected semiconductors can provide efficiencies of approximately including 8-10%.  
         [0008]     The independence of size vs. efficiency, the absence of moving parts, high reliability, quietness, lack of vibration, low maintenance, simple startup, and absence of pollution problems characterize the technique of direct energy conversion. Thermoelectric generators have been used in specialized applications in which combinations of their desirable features outweigh their high cost and low generating efficiencies, which are typically 3-7%. Large-scale thermoelectric generators cannot compete with oil-fired central power stations, which operate at efficiencies of 35-40%.  
         [0009]     The most advanced thermoelectric systems are the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs), which have been developed for military and space systems under the aegis of the US Department of Energy DOE. The RTGs most recently operated in space were used to power the Voyager I and II spacecrafts and have conversion efficiencies of 6.7% and specific powers of 4.2 W/kg. Other RTGs have been used for such applications as floating and terrestrial weather stations, cardiac pacemakers, and navigational buoys. Fossil-fired thermoelectric generators have been developed for military and commercial applications. Some of these applications include power for remote navigational lights, communication line repeaters, and cathodic protection, eg, protection of the east-west pipeline across Saudi Arabia by 34 thermoelectric stations.  
         [0010]     Thermoelectric heat pumping, like thermoelectric power generation, has increased applications in those areas where the advantages of the thermoelectric conversion process, i.e., small space, lightweight, high reliability, no noise or pollution, and simple temperature control, can be utilized.  
         [0011]     Thermoelectric cooling devices have been developed for a variety of military and commercial applications. These include submarine air-conditioning systems, small refrigerators, and recreational instruments, and cooling for electro-optical systems. They could be used in systems using night navigation, night vision cameras, in the navigation of long and short-range rockets, missiles and other instruments of war.  
         [0012]     Peltier Cooling is the textbook interpretation of the inner working of thermoelectric cooling.  
         [0013]     The principle of operation of a Peltier device is shown in  FIGS. 5, 6  and  7 . In  FIG. 5  there is shown an assembly  51  of p and n type semiconductor  52  and  53  respectively and two metallic plates  54  and  55 . When a battery  56  is connected to both semiconductor columns  52  and  53  via metallic plates  54  and  55 , a passage of current will produce cooling and heating effects for given current polarity, as is shown in  FIG. 6 . With the positive thermal applied to the p type semiconductor, the positive end is coded and the end that the negative terminal is connected in order to be heated, and the reverse will occur for the n type semiconductor  53 . When reversed, polarity is applied by battery  57 , previously hot ends will turn cold and the previously cold ends will turn hot, as viewed in  FIGS. 6 and 7 .  
         [0014]     Detailed views of events just described are given in  FIGS. 8, 9 ,  10 ,  11 ,  12  and  13 . The role, that Joule&#39;s heat is playing, is intentionally omitted.  
         [0015]     Although the Peltier cooling and Seebeck electricity generation is not exclusive to semiconductors, the band diagram structure for p and n type semiconductors is highlighted in  FIGS. 14, 15  and  16 .  
         [0016]     Current understanding of the Peltier effect principle is explained on bases of moving electrons or holes from one material to another and electrons or holes are said to be the carriers of heat. It was found that the quantity of heat transferred is proportional to the quantity of electricity flowing. The constant of proportionality is the differential Peltier coefficient, α P     ab   , given by  
               α     P   ab       =       W   Q     =       P   I     ⁢   volts               (   1   )             
 
 Where W is the energy in joules transferred to or from the junction between two materials, a and b, by a charge of Q coulombs, α P     ab    is often more conveniently expressed in terms of the power P (watts) transferred by a current I (amperes). 
 
         [0018]     If the two materials are joined at two points held at different temperatures, an open-circuit potential difference ΔV is produced as a result of a temperature difference ΔT between the junctions, the Seebeck effect. This leads to the differential Seebeck coefficient, α S     ab   , given by:  
               α     S   ab       =       lim       Δ   ⁢           ⁢   T     →   0       ⁢         Δ   ⁢           ⁢   V       Δ   ⁢           ⁢   T       ⁢   V   ⁢     /     ⁢   °   ⁢           ⁢   C               (   2   )             
 
         [0019]     The e.m.f. generated when ΔT= 31  1° C. is sometimes called the thermoelectric power. The two coefficients (and) are related by relationship:  
               α     S   ab       =       α     P   ab       T             (   3   )             
 
 Where T is the absolute temperature of the cold junction. 
 
         [0021]     Finally, where there is a temperature difference ΔT over part of a single conductor the passage of current I leads to thermal power ΔP being generated. This is an event, related to the Peltier and Seebeck effect, and is not considered.  
         [0022]     The junction of two metals to form a thermocouple has been used for a long time as a method of measuring temperature, with copper-constantan or iron-constantan couples having values of α S  up to about 50 μV/° C. Correspondingly low values of α P  occur, so that little energy is transferred when a current is passed through the junction, with a consequently small cooling effect. This is because the conduction electrons all have energies close to the Fermi level, and very small energy changes occur when a current flows through the junction. However, for the ohmic contact between a metal and a non-degenerate semiconductor α P  is much larger and a significant cooling effect may be obtained.  
         [0023]     Consider an n-type semiconductor section  81  sandwiched between two metals  82  and  83  respectively to form two ohmic contacts ( FIG. 8 ). If a potential difference is applied as shown, only the higher energy electrons in metal  82  will be able to move over the potential barrier φ S -χ into the semiconductor  81  ( FIG. 9 ). Thus in metal  83  the average electron energy is reduced, while in metal  82  it is increased, so that heat is transferred from metal  82  to metal  83 . If a p-type semiconductor is substituted and the same voltage applied ( FIG. 10 ), a hole current will flow due to movement of electrons in the valence band under the potential barrier ζ-φ S . Thus low-energy electrons are removed from metal  1 , increasing its average energy and reducing the average energy of metal  2 , so that heat is obtained from the energy diagram, since the electrons crossing from metal  82  to an n-type semiconductor  81  possess potential energy (φ S -χ) and mean kinetic energy {overscore (w)}, which is proportional to  
               α     P   mn       =     -         w   +     (       ϕ   S     -   χ     )       _     e               (   4   )             
 
         [0024]     The minus sign indicates removal of energy from the metal. Similarly, for a metal-to-p-type semiconductor contact,  
               α     P   mp       =     +         w   +     (     ζ   -     ϕ   S       )       _     e               (   5   )             
 
 The plus sign indicating energy transfer to the metal  83 , due to the temperature dependence of the quantities in eqs. (4) and (5) α P  rises with temperature. 
 
         [0026]     A commercial cooling device is obtained by arranging n and p type materials in couples ( FIGS. 1, 2  &amp;  3 ). The passage of current due to the indicated applied voltage will cause all the top metal surfaces to be cooled and the lower ones to be heated, while reversal of the current will cause reversal of the direction of the heat flow. Thus if one side of the device is fixed to a suitable heat sink maintained at room temperature, refrigeration of an article to the other side would occur. A p—n bismuth—telluride couple has a Seebeck coefficient of about 400 μV/° C. and for a well heat-insulated device with  16  couples, for example, a current of 10 A will cause a heat flow of about 3 W, maintaining a temperature difference of about 30° C. between the two surfaces. From eq. (1) the higher the current passed through the device the greater will be the rate of the heat flow, but a limit is by the heat dissipation due to the electrical resistance of the device and by the heat flowing in from the surroundings. It may be shown that the Joule heat produced in the resistance flows equally to the hot and cold surfaces, so that for a cooling unit of resistance R with the cold surface at temperature T c , the equation governing the thermal condition of the load is  
                         
 
         [0027]     K is the thermal conductance of the device, which is reduced by efficient thermal insulation, and ΔT is the temperature difference between the surfaces. A high value of α S  is desirable to give as large a drop in temperature as possible for a given current; α S  is used in the above equation since it is less dependent on temperature than α P .  
         [0028]     The suitability of a material for use as a thermoelectric device depends on the above considerations and may be deduced from a figure of merit, Z given by  
             Z   =         α   s   2     RK     ⁢     kelvin     -   1                 (   7   )             
 
 At room temperature, for metal junction Z is about 0.1×10 −3  K. 
 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0030]     In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of thermoelectric type devices now outlined in the prior art, the present invention provides a thermal pocket cooling device construction wherein the same can be utilized for cooling objects, space, system or devices.  
         [0031]     The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a new cooling device that has many of the advantages of the thermoelectric devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new cooling device.  
         [0032]     To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a device converting moving electric charges into thermal pockets. The main component is a junction of dissimilar materials, such as metal and p-type semiconductor, metal and n-type semiconductor, metal to metal junction, p-type semiconductor to n-type semiconductor junction, p-type or n-type semiconductor to inversion layer junction, metal to p-type and n-type semiconductor junction and other combinations thereafter. This is achieved by making the thermal conductance K and the thermal resistance as small as possible.  
         [0033]     A primary object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.  
         [0034]     An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal device for cooling of objects, space, system or devices.  
         [0035]     Another object of the invention is to incorporate cooling device into to body of integrated circuits.  
         [0036]     Another object of the invention is to provide cooling of the substrate, which is used as a mounting and supporting carrier and as a cooling device to subsystems, attached to this substrate.  
         [0037]     Another object of the invention is to yield high efficiency, low cost, lightweight for portability, easy to use device.  
         [0038]     Another object of the invention is to provide low temperature environment for superconducting devices, high heat output components, integrated circuits and superconductive systems.  
         [0039]     Another object of the invention is to provide a cooling system that may be used to control temperature of precision voltage standards, voltage references, A/D converters, D/.A converters, amplifiers, comparators and other analog devices.  
         [0040]     Another object of this invention is to provide a low temperature for devices used in low light level cameras, infrared detections systems, UV systems, and weaponry.  
         [0041]     Another object of this invention is to provide low temperature environment for high-speed circuits, communication devices, digital processors and computing devices.  
         [0042]     Another object of this invention is to provide accurate low temperature in CCD and MOS cameras.  
         [0043]     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages be within the scope of the present invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0044]      FIGS. 1-4  illustrate prior art thermoelectric devices.  
         [0045]      FIGS. 5-7  illustrate a prior art Peltier device.  
         [0046]      FIGS. 8-13  illustrate detailed views of the operation of the Peltier device.  
         [0047]      FIGS. 14-18  illustrate the band diagram structure of the Peltier device.  
         [0048]      FIG. 19  illustrates a single-stage cooling device.  
         [0049]      FIG. 20  illustrates the cooling effect of the device.  
         [0050]      FIG. 21  illustrates a pyramid structure of the prior art of  FIGS. 1-3 .  
         [0051]      FIG. 22  illustrates a top view of a circular cooling device.  
         [0052]      FIG. 23  illustrates a sectional cut of the device of  FIG. 22 .  
         [0053]      FIGS. 24-25  illustrate sectional views of the cut of  FIG. 22 .  
         [0054]     FIGS.  26 ( a - d ) illustrate the progression of additional ring segments.  
         [0055]     FIGS.  27 ( a - b ) illustrate stacked cells separated by insulators.  
         [0056]      FIG. 28  illustrates a gas heater, including a pipe.  
         [0057]      FIG. 29  illustrates the device of  FIG. 28  with additional cooling.  
         [0058]      FIG. 30  illustrates an application of the cooling device according to this invention.  
         [0059]      FIG. 31  shows a segment of the thermoelectric cooling circuit.  
         [0060]      FIG. 32  shows use of the thermoelectric cooling device of this invention on a high power transistor switch.  
         [0061]      FIG. 33  shows an alternate embodiment of the invention.  
         [0062]      FIG. 34  shows another alternate embodiment of the invention.  
         [0063]      FIG. 35  shows a frontal view of an infrared lense with the cooling device of this invention.  
         [0064]      FIG. 36  shows a frontal view of either a spacecraft of underwatercraft with the cooling device of this invention.  
         [0065]      FIG. 37  is a table of components.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0066]     Equation (6) implies that the best results are achieved when the Joule&#39;s heat and the ΔT and K components are minimized. The Joule&#39;s heat reduction could be achieved by making the device short to minimize the resistance R. This is illustrated in  FIGS. 11 through 21  for n- and p-type materials. In  FIGS. 14 and 18  the Joule&#39;s heat is negligible due to the reduced length of material. The Peltier heat flow from one end to another becomes  
               Q   .     =         ⅆ   Q       ⅆ   τ       =       -   kA     ⁢       ⅆ   θ       ⅆ   l                   (   8   )             
 
 The derivative  
         ⅆ   θ       ⅆ   l         
 
 is called the temperature gradient. The minus sign is introduced in order that the positive direction of the flow of heat should coincide with the positive direction of l. For heat to flow in the positive direction of l, this must be the direction in which θ decreases. 
 
         [0069]     The Equation (8) deals with transport of heat from one junction to another.  
         [0070]     When the current is applied to a cell, each end of the material is maintained at different temperature and empirical measurements will show a continuous distribution of temperature. The transport of energy between neighboring volume elements is by virtue of the temperature difference between the elements and is known as heat conduction. The fundamental law of heat conduction is a generalization of the results of experiments on the linear flow of heat through a slab perpendicular to the faces. If a device is made from a slab of silicon of thickness Δx and of area A and one junction is maintained at the temperature θ and the other at θ+Δθ. The heat Q that flows perpendicular to the faces for a time τ is measured. It is a time unit.  
         [0071]      FIGS. 11-18  provide a detail explanation of the operation of the invention. Beginning with  FIG. 11  there is shown a representation of a piece of p-type semiconductor material  109  that has a length of  31  as represented by dimension lines  308 . There is a metal plate  102  on one end and opposite the metal plate and separated by the distance  31  is a second metal plate  103  at the opposite end of the p-type semiconductor material  109 . There is a constant current source  105  provided and when a switch  141  is closed current would flow from the current source  105  through plate  103  the p-type semiconductor material  109  and then through plate  102  back to the current source  105 .  
         [0072]      FIG. 12  illustrates the situation where the switch  141  is in the closed position and current is flowing as indicated by arrow  110  from the constant current supply  105 . There is heat present and a depletion region  109  is generated by the effects of the heat on the semiconductor bar  109 . Similarly, there is a depletion region  113  that is present that is caused by the electric field created by the flow of the current A, between plates  103  and  102 .  
         [0073]     In  FIG. 13 , as was in  FIG. 12 , there is an area  114  that is also heated by the effect of the joule heating that is the results of the internal resistance of the p-type semiconductor material  109 .  
         [0074]     Referring to  FIG. 14 , the plates  103  and  102  have been positioned so that the depletion region created by the heat next to the plate  102  is overlapping the depletion region created by the electric field created by the flow of current A into the plate  103 . Thus, the separation of the plate  102  by the plate  103  is determined by length L of the p-type semiconductor material  109  where L ideally should be the depletion of the p-type semiconductor material  109  when the cooling device  900  is in use.  
         [0075]     The removing of the joule heating area  114  from the circuit will enable the cooling circuit to function more efficiently due to the fact that the joule heating that is produced by the internal resistance has been minimized or eliminated. Therefore, in designing a heating or cooling system according to the invention, it would always be beneficial to ascertain the anticipated depletion region that is caused by the amount of heat to be removed and the depletion region that was generated/caused by the electric field generated by the current provided by the constant current supply  105 . If n-type semiconductor material  161  should be selected,  FIGS. 15-18  will demonstrate the similar results, wherein  FIG. 15  the n-type material  161  is separated by the length of  31  between metal plates  102 ,  103 . The constant current supply  105  is conductive such that the current I flows in the opposite direction.  FIG. 16  shows the situation where the switch  141  is closed and there is a depletion region  133  primarily produced by the heat as well as a depletion region  129  that is next to the plate  103 . Additionally, there is the area of  114  that is caused by the resistance to the current that flows through the bar  161 . Finally in  FIG. 18  the plates  102  and  103  are positioned between the p-type semiconductor material  115  such that the depletion regions are merged and the closeness of the plates enables the cooling effect of the circuit to be more effective.  
         [0076]      FIG. 19  illustrates a single stage-cooling device that has an outer metal contact  402  and an inner metal contact  403 . The metal contacts are separated by medium  201 . The medium material could be in any state or vacuum, or it could be a semiconductor, a conductor, a liquid, it could be in solid state or plasma.  
         [0077]     In the embodiment shown, and as was discussed in conjunction with equations 4 and 5 the selection of the material is based on the Peltier constant which determines the separations between the metal contact represented by arrow  202 . The shape of the cooling article of  FIG. 19  is circular however; it could be any polygonal shape, circular, elliptical, parabolic, hyperbolic, cercal, parabolic, or rotating hyperboloid. The application is not dependent on the shape.  
         [0078]      FIG. 20  illustrates the cooling effect of the device  200  showing where the metal contact  402  is heated or the hot contact and the internal contact  403  is the cold contact. The separation is the depletion region of medium  201 .  
         [0079]      FIG. 21  illustrates the pyramid structures similar to those of  FIGS. 1-3  disclosed in the prior art. The difference is that plate  102  is separated from plate  203  by the link L which has a link chosen to put the plates in contact with the depletion regions. Same is true for plate  103 . Additionally, the stack pyramid also has a plate  302  separated by plate  303  by distance L, and plate  302  is separated by plate  308  by the distance L similarly plate  402  is separated from plate  305  by the distance L. These distances are chosen to be minimum so that the joule heating effect of the current flowing through the respective semiconductor regions is minimized.  
         [0080]      FIG. 22  shows a top view of a cooling device that is circular in shape. The device  400  has dual stages, which- approximately allows a doubling of the cooler effect over the device of  FIG. 19 .  
         [0081]      FIG. 23  shows a sectional cut made to the cooling device  400  and the sectional view is provided by  FIG. 24 .  
         [0082]     Referring to  FIG. 24  there is a metal plate  402  and a second metal plate  403  that are separated by a medium such as a semiconductor element  201 . Similarly, metal contact  403  is separated by a metal contact  404  by an identical medium  201   b,  such as a p-type semiconductor material. If current is applied to the device  400  it would effect cooling as shown in  FIG. 25 . The positive terminal of current source  105  is applied to plate  404  and a current loop is completed via the current flowing through the p-type semiconductor device  201 B to plate  403  or metal conductor  403  back to the negative terminal of battery  105 . Current source  105   b  provides current to plates  403 , which flows through the semiconductor device  201  to plate  402 , and back to the terminal  105   b.  The current provided by current source  105   b  is double that of current source  105 . This doubling increases because the segment that includes plate  403 , semiconductor segment  201 , and plate  402  will have to remove twice the heat as the device that comprises the metal plate  404 , semiconductor  201   b,  and metal plate  403 . Since the semiconductor regions have the same lateral dimensions, the outer most region must cool both itself and all outer regions including the center one  408 . The total number of regions in  FIG. 25  is 3, so the author states would have to remove 2 times the heat of the minus stage ie I (n-1) unless n is the number of regions.  
         [0083]     Referring to  FIG. 26 , in  FIG. 26   a  the device  200  of  FIG. 22  is shown. Additional rings can be added to the device  200 . For example,  FIG. 26   b  shows device  400  of  FIG. 23  having 3 conductors which conductor  413  being connected to conductor ring  402 , conductor  411  being connected to conductor ring  403 , and conductor  412  being connected to conductor ring  404 .  
         [0084]     In  FIG. 26   c  device  500  is shown which includes a third ring segment  201   b  that is located between metal ring  402  and metal ring  407 . Metal ring  407  is connected to conductor  416 . In  FIG. 26   d  a device  600  is shown having an additional ring, additional segment that includes outer ring  409 , a medium  201   c  located between ring  417 . The outer segment  421  provides additional cooling to the inner space  427 .  
         [0085]     Referring to  FIG. 27  not only can the cooling circuit be expanded by the additional segments you can take a group of segments which are called cell  600  and stack the cells by separating each cell  600  by a insulator  601  to obtain an assembled cooling cell  603  as is shown in  FIG. 27   b.    
         [0086]     Referring to  FIG. 28  there is shown a gas heater  610  that includes a pipe  605  and an assembled cell unit  603 . Hot fluids or gas flow into the pipe  605  as is represented by arrow  606  to provide an outflow of cold fluids or gas as is shown by arrow  607 . This arrangement can be used as a heat pipe, and would have applications such as air conditioning or even cooling the tundra under the trans-Alaskan pipelines. This would be used to prevent the thermo-frost from melting due to the heat generated by the flow of the trans-Alaskan pipeline.  
         [0087]     Providing additional cooling to the assembly  610  could further enhance the device, this embodiment is shown in  FIG. 29 , to which reference should now be made. There is an outer conductor  621  an inner conductor  622  separated by segment  623 . The segment  623  can be any type of medium; or one of the previously described mediums to facilitate what is referred to as force cooling as is shown by the arrow  622 . Here again the substance that is cool flows in as indicated by arrow  606  into the pipe  605  and flows out as indicated by the arrow  607 . Additionally, the medium  623  could also be air where there is forced cooling provided between the metal sleeve  622  and  621  to remove additional heat and make the thermoelectric cooling cell more efficient (i.e. reducing the K factor of equation (6)).  
         [0088]     Referring to  FIG. 30  there is shown an application of a cooling model according to the invention to be used with a Pentium microprocessor. The device includes a substrate  705  having a plurality of bonding pads  701 , located on the substrate is a Pentium microprocessor  703 . Surrounding the microprocessor  703  is a thermo-electric cooling circuit  702  according to the invention. A segment of the thermoelectric cooling circuit  702  is provided as seen from dimension lines  31 - 31  in  FIG. 31 . The segment includes a substrate of p-type material  710  and within the p-type material is an implanted N-layer  711 . The N-layer is divided into segments  712 - 717 . There are  5  metal conductors  721 ,  722 ,  723 ,  724  and  725  as shown, and run parallel around the microprocessor  703 . Each pair of metal conductors is connected to a constant current source. The first segment of  713  has a constant current source that provides current I 1  connected between conductors  721 - 722 . The second segment  714  has a constant current source I 2  connected between conductor  722  and  723 . I 2  provides current that is twice the current of I 1 . Similarly the third segment  715  has a constant current source connected between conductor  723  and conductor  724  and provides a current I 3  that is three times the current of I 1 . Finally, segment  716  has a current source I 4  connected between conductor  724  and  725  with I 4  being four ties the current of I 1 . With this configuration the heat that is generated by the microprocessor  703  can be removed. The cooling circuit  702  could be bonded onto a ceramic pad  705  along with the microprocessor  703 . By using this configuration microprocessor  703  can be efficiently cool without the necessity of the complex cooling circuits currently being used.  
         [0089]     The thermoelectric cooling device of this disclosure can also be used to cool high voltage or high power transistor switches. Example of that is shown in  FIG. 32  where there is a smart power device  800 . The device  800  includes a semiconductor chip  801  that is segmented into a logic portion  803  and a power mosfet switch  802 . Surrounding the power mosfet switch is a cooling circuit  804  similar to the circuit  702  of  FIG. 30 .  
         [0090]      FIG. 33  is an alternate embodiment of the invention in which there is a semiconductor circuit  810  that includes a substrate of an n+ region  821  and an n− region  821 . Within the region  821  there are p-rods that go across the semiconductor circuit p-rod  811  p-rod  812 , p-rod  813 , p-rod  814 , p-rod  815  and p-rod  816 . Mounted on the semiconductor substrate, in particular on the n region are circuit arrangements  822  over which there is an oxide layer  823 . Typically as used herein mounted on a semiconductor substrate would include implants circuits that are implanted and annealed into the semiconductor substrate. With the p-rods running under the circuit areas, the cooling can be effected by connecting currents between p-rods  813  and  812  and connecting a current that is double, between p-rods  812  and  811 . Similarly, there can be an II current source connected between p-rod  814  and  815 , and an additional current source between p-rod  816  and p-rod  815 . The current between p-rod  816  and  815  would be double that between the current provided by the source connected between p-rod  815  and p-rod  814 .  
         [0091]     Still an alternative is to cool each transistor cell  920  with a cooling device  921  according to the invention of a Power Transistor  930  than includes a thousand transistor cells. This is illustrated in  FIG. 34 .  
         [0092]      FIG. 35  is a frontal view of an infrared lense  825  that includes a lens area  829  and a cooling circuit  895 . The cooling circuit  895  includes an outer conductor  826 , an inner conductor  828  separated by a medium such as silicon or glass. Conductors  830  and  831  are used to connect the current source between the metal boundaries  826  and  828 .  
         [0093]      FIG. 36  is a frontal view of an either a spacecraft or an under watercraft that includes the ship, a device  910  having a window  904 . There is an outer metal ring, metal  901  and an inner metal ring  902  and the outer skin of the craft  903 . A current I 1  is connected between the outer ring  901  and the inner ring  902  and a current source  902  is connected between the metal ring  902  and the outer skin of the craft  903  with the current I 2  being half that of I 1  in situation where the craft  900  if a space craft because it would be desired to cool the space craft from the heating effect caused by the sun, and the opposite would be true in the event of the craft  900  and the craft  900  is an undersea craft as would be desired to warm the craft if it were the deep ocean. The medium in the situation of space is of course a vacuum or very limited air, whereas the medium would be water when used as an undersea craft.  
         [0094]     There are many combinations of materials that could be used to fabricate the cooling device that is discussed in the previous sections.  FIG. 37  is a table which provides examples of the different combinations that can be used.  
         [0095]      FIG. 38  illustrate an example of a Superconducting Quantum Interface Device, SQUID, with a high efficiency cooling system as taught herein. The device is a circuit such as high frequency radio receiver  1000  and includes a signal processor  1001 , a cooling section such as that taught in  FIG. 30  cooling superconductive elements  1003 . The basic operation of SQUIDs is disclosed in the August 1994 article by John Clarke in  Scientific American,  entitled “SQUIDs” on pages 46 through 52 also in the February 1993 article by Bishop, Grmmel and Huse entitled “Resistance in High-Temperature Superconductors” also in  Scientific American  pages 48 through 55. Both articles are incorporated herein by reference.