Periodic Reporting for period 1 - e-COOL (Electroluminescent cooler prototype)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-09-01 bis 2024-02-29
Electroluminescent cooling (ELC) is an optical cooling phenomenon that has the potential to revolutionize miniaturized solid-state cooling by harnessing the process of electroluminescence to extract heat from a light emitting material. Traditional cooling techniques rely on the transfer of heat energy, whereas ELC operates by converting electrical energy directly into cooling energy through the emission of light using enhanced LED technologies. This unique approach offers several advantages, including compact size and the absence of moving parts, making it attractive for several applications in electronics, sensors, and refrigeration.
The development of LED-based cooler prototypes represents significant challenges, as developing sufficiently high efficiency LEDs requires several new solutions and substantial optimization. Combining the efficiency and compactness of LEDs with such new solutions can nevertheless lead to the demonstration of new compact and energy-efficient cooling solutions that could potentially disrupt existing technologies in air conditioning and refrigeration.
In this project we aimed to condense ongoing synergetic efforts to producing the first ELC cooler device prototypes that could demonstrate or pave way to the new cooling technology, as well as to provide a better understanding of the possible first markets and market needs towards the technology.
The development of LED-based cooler prototypes represents significant challenges, as developing sufficiently high efficiency LEDs requires several new solutions and substantial optimization. Combining the efficiency and compactness of LEDs with such new solutions can nevertheless lead to the demonstration of new compact and energy-efficient cooling solutions that could potentially disrupt existing technologies in air conditioning and refrigeration.
In this project we aimed to condense ongoing synergetic efforts to producing the first ELC cooler device prototypes that could demonstrate or pave way to the new cooling technology, as well as to provide a better understanding of the possible first markets and market needs towards the technology.
The project entailed the full fabrication chain from iii-v compound semiconductor epitaxy to device fabrication in clean room, thin-film device development and prototype development, in addition to preliminary market studies. It succeeded in joining several state-of-the-art solutions and fabrication techniques to advance the fabrication of the final device prototypes and nearing the delivery of all new final fabrication capabilities. Key accomplishments therefore include establishing a strong foundation for prototype fabrication and the next steps in the research in the field, paving the way for related developments in thin-film technology and market penetration.
The results obtained in the project have strengthened the general expectations for the feasibility of accessing ELC using the chosen approaches, and are thereby bringing the realization of ELC systems closer to fruition as well as also laying the ground for further innovations in the field. As the materials used in ELC systems must exhibit a very high light emission efficiency, the device efficiency and the accessible temperature ranges will crucially depend on the used materials and solutions. This implies that developing the field further will continue to provide several interesting materials science and engineering challenges. As a result of the project, the fabrication capabilities and requirements for realizing ELC technologies are becoming increasingly accessible and better known, paving the way for the next phase of research and development in this area. With new possibilities emerging for efficient cooling solutions based on electroluminescence, the project's concepts hold promise for transforming the landscape of thermal management technologies and shaping the future of cooling systems across various industries.