A micro solid-state refrigeration prototype device based on the electrocaloric effect

The increase in chip power consumption and heat generation has created the need for new cooling technologies, and the electrocaloric effect (ECE) has become a promising micro cooling technology due to its high efficiency and environmentally friendly features. In this work, a solid-state refrigeration prototype device based on ECE were designed. We first developed a refrigeration process based on the Brayton cycle. After the structural design, electrocaloric material selection, device fabrication, and assembly, we obtained a miniature solid-state refrigeration prototype device. With a 250-V applied voltage and a 3-s cycle period, this prototype refrigeration device achieved a temperature span (Tspan, difference in temperature between the hot end and the cold end) of 0.46 K between the hot end and cold end at room temperature, providing a new design concept for the ECE in micro cooling technology.