Patent ID: 7628021

Claim:
A solid state heat pump comprising: a power supply that provides an electric field; a first metal layer; a layer of dielectric material disposed over the first metal layer; and a second metal layer disposed over the layer of dielectric material; the dielectric material being selected and the power supply being connected so that an electric field applied by the power supply across the first and second metal layers will reduce an energy level of a secondary energy state of the dielectric material to less than or equal to an energy level of a primary energy state of the dielectric material, whereby molecules of the dielectric material absorb activation energy in the form of heat from a heat source sufficient to become excited and flip from the primary energy state to the reduced energy level secondary energy state, thereby cooling the heat source; and so that when the electric field applied across the first and second metal layers is discontinued or its polarity reversed, the energy level of the secondary energy state will be reduced to cause the excited molecules of the dielectric material to return to the primary energy state, thereby releasing heat to a heat sink, thereby heating the heat sink; wherein the heat released to the heat sink will be greater than the heat absorbed from the heat source.