Cooling Solutions for Autonomous Systems

Introduction

Advances in autonomous technologies, such as smart headlights, autonomous systems for collision avoidance, and infotainment systems, require enhanced thermal protection of critical electronics to ensure optimized performance. These emerging intelligent autonomous systems are increasingly complex while decreasing in size and weight. Packing more functionality into smaller footprints has increased the heat flux density and thermal challenges in autonomous systems.

Energy Storage Systems

Background

Energy storage systems (ESS) have the power to impart flexibility to the electric grid and offer a back-up power source. Energy storage systems are vital when municipalities experience blackouts, states-of-emergency, and infrastructure failures that lead to power outages. ESS technology is having a significant impact on a wide range of markets, including data centers that utilize uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) and telecom base stations that utilize battery back-up systems.

X-ray Cooling in Industrial Scanners

Introduction

Industrial scanning equipment like X-ray machines are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from non-destructive evaluation looking for manufacturing defects and contaminants to scanning trucks or baggage to ensure safety and security. X-ray inspection can be used for both process and quality control in automated assembly lines. Only a small portion of the energy generated by these systems is emitted as X-rays; the balance is released as heat.

Thermoelectric Cooling for Outdoor Kiosks

Introduction

Outdoor kiosks have grown in popularity in a wide variety of applications and sectors, including banking, entertainment, retail, showrooms, industrial and education. You see kiosks everywhere, from banks and airports, to theme parks and train stations. Being located outdoors, kiosks and the sensitive electronics they contain are subjected to extreme temperatures, from the cold of winter to the heat of summer. Ambient temperatures can exceed 40°C or below 10°C. Heat loads for the electronics themselves can range from 20 to more than 200 Watts.

Thermoelectric Cooling for CMOS Sensors

Introduction

For nearly 60 years CCD (charge-coupled device) sensors and CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensors have competed on cost and performance in a wide range of digital imaging applications. Peltier coolers (thermoelectric coolers) have cooled both technologies when the requirement demanded high-resolution images. Design engineers opted to use CCD’s for astrophotography, super-resolution microscopy, x-ray crystallography, and spectrophotometric assays. On the other hand, CMOS sensors made inexpensive digital photography a reality.

Peltier Cooling for Machine Vision

Introduction

Machine vision is the replacement of human examination, assessment and decision-making with video hardware and software systems. The technology is often used for vision inspection, quality control, robotics, wire bonding and down-hole applications where machine vision systems obtain data from analyzing images of a specific process or activity. 

Peltier Cooling for Digital Light Processors

Introduction

Digital light processors employ a laser light source and millions of tiny mirrors to produce vibrant, high-resolution images for a wide variety of industries and applications. It is critical to maintain an optimum operating temperature during use to prevent degradation of the digital light processing technology. Active cooling solutions utilizing thermoelectric coolers can provide digital light processors thermal management in a wide range of high temperature applications. 

Thermoelectric Coolers for Reagent Storage

Introduction

Analytical chemists use reagents to detect the presence or absence of a substance, or to test if a specific reaction occurs. Laboratory and medical technicians use reagents to cause a chemical or biological reaction to measure or identify a target substance. Biotechnologists consider antibodies, model organisms, oligomers, and specific cell lines as reagents to identify and manipulate cell matter. These reagents, especially those used by the biotechnologist, have narrow operating temperature windows which require refrigeration or freezing.

Thermoelectric Cooler Assemblies for Reagent Storage

Introduction

Maintaining a temperature well below ambient, and monitoring this temperature carefully, are critical to extending the shelf life of reagents used for in vitro diagnostics. Most reagents require refrigeration and would spoil within hours at room temperatures. Reagents can degrade and become contaminated by microbial growth, which can affect test integrity results. Reagents can also be negatively impacted if they undergo too many freeze and thaw cycles. 

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