Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Modern military aircraft increasingly use optical components and systems to process information. Thermoelectric coolers (TEC’s) improve performance in similar terrestrial applications by providing active temperature control of the optical components. Thermoelectric coolers are generally not used in aerospace applications because of concerns with reliability. While, thermoelectric coolers have a long history of reliable use in land based optical communication systems, aircraft environmental requirements are much more severe. This highlights the need for a better understanding for the role of packaging and joining materials in thermoelectric/optical component reliability and the ability to model and predict internal stress. To investigate, test specimens were prepared using different size thermoelectric coolers, packaging materials and solder types. TEC’s of 10 and 16 mm size were soldered to metal plates with CTE values from 6 to 10 ppm/°C. Solder joints included Tin/Lead and Indium/Silver based solders. The specimens were thermal cycled with different temperature ranges to determine the point of failure, the most severe range being +125 to -55°C, a typical qualification requirement for aerospace components. Each specimen was modeled using multiphysics FEA software. The goal was to determine a life-stress model that could predict thermal cycle life for a specific stress level. The results revealed TEC’s can readily survive over 1000 thermal cycles for aerospace qualification. Indium mounting solders performed the best and allowed the greatest devices size and difference in thermoelectric to package CTE. Finally, the life-stress model was applied to a unique planar-multistage thermoelectric cooler to explore the range of its application.
Source: IMAPSource Proceedings
DOI: 10.4071/001c.165744
Authors: Mike Gilley, John Mazurowski
Institutions: II-VI (United States), Pennsylvania State University
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7171850780