Abstract: Examples of systems described herein may be used to cool an electronic device. Systems include a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the electronic device. Fluid may be passed through the heat exchanger and heat transferred from the electronic device to the fluid at least in part using convection. A fluid cooling system may be provided to cool the fluid and provide cooled fluid back to the heat exchanger. The fluid cooling system may include an active cooler (e.g., a thermoelectric device) and one or more additional heat exchangers. Control systems may control a pump or fan used to propel fluid through the system and power to the active cooler to maintain a temperature of the electronic device to a desired temperature or range.

Abstract: An integrated thermoelectric generator of out-of-plane heat flux configuration can be fabricated with a process fully compatible with standard front-end CMOS or BiCMOS technologies, if portions of the planar electrically non conductive cover layer suspended over the valleys have sufficiently large through holes to let isotropic etching solutions or etching plasma pass therethrough, across the thickness of the non conductive cover layer, so as to realize void spaces. The generator has a top capping layer deposited onto a free surface, oriented in an opposite direction in respect to the void spaces, of the planar electrically non conductive cover layer so as to occlude the through holes of the non conductive cover layer. A method of fabricating an integrated thermoelectric generator of out-of-plane heat flux configuration is also disclosed.

Abstract: A novel and effective structure of a stackable element (A1, A2) or more generally adapted to be associated modularly to other similar elements to form a septum of relatively large dimensions for a Seebeck/Peltier thermoelectric conversion device, may be fabricated with common planar processing techniques. The structure basically consists of a stack (A1, A2) of alternated layers of a first dielectric material (2), adapted to be deposited in films of thickness lesser than or equal to about 50 nm, of low heat conductivity and which is etchable by a solution of a specific chemical compound, and of a second dielectric material (3) of low heat conductivity that is not etched by the solution.

Abstract: The invention relates to Seebeck/Peltier bidirectional thermoelectric conversion devices and in particular to devices employing nanowires of conductive or semiconductive material defined on a substrate by common planar technologies.

Abstract: Significant phonon migration restraint is achieved within a relatively homogeneous polycrystalline doped semiconductor bulk by purposely creating in the crystal lattice of the semiconductor hydrocarbon bonds with the semiconductor, typically Si or Ge, constituting effective organic group substituents of semiconductor atoms in the crystalline domains. An important enhancement of the factor of merit Z of such a modified electrically conductive doped semiconductor is obtained without resorting to nanometric cross sectional dimensions in order to rely on surface scattering eventually enhanced by making the surface highly irregular and/or creating nanocavities within the bulk of the conductive material. A determinant scattering of phonons migrating under the influence and in the direction of a temperature gradient in the homogeneous semiconductor takes place at the organic groups substituents in the crystalline doped semiconductor bulk.

Abstract: A novel and effective structure of a stackable element (A1, A2) or more generally adapted to be associated modularly to other similar elements to form a septum of relatively large dimensions for a Seebeck/Peltier thermoelectric conversion device, may be fabricated with common planar processing techniques. The structure basically consists of a stack (A1, A2) of alternated layers of a first dielectric material (2), adapted to be deposited in films of thickness lesser than or equal to about 50 nm, of low heat conductivity and which is etchable by a solution of a specific chemical compound, and of a second dielectric material (3) of low heat conductivity that is not etched by the solution.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to Seebeck/Peltier effect thermoelectric conversion devices and in particular devices made of stack of dielectric layers alternated to treated semiconducting layers even of large size, not requiring lithographic patterning in a nano-micrometric scale.

Abstract: A method for protecting silver and silver alloy surfaces against tarnishing, characterized by initially subjecting the surface to be treated to cleaning pre-treatment in organic solvents; immersing the cleaned surface in an acid solution able to ensure formation of a thin layer of silver oxide; immersing the oxidized surface in a solution of at least one thiol of formula CH3(CH2)nSH where n is between 10 and 16; and chemically reacting the molecules of said thiol with the previously oxidized silver surface, in an environment containing water vapor at a temperature of at least 50° C.

Abstract: A novel and effective structure of a stackable element (A1,A2) or more generally adapted to be associated modularly to other similar elements to form a septum of relatively large dimensions for a Seebeck/Peltier thermoelectric conversion device, may be fabricated with common planar processing techniques. The structure basically consists of a stack (A1, A2) of alternated layers of a first dielectric material (2), adapted to be deposited in films of thickness lesser than or equal to about 50 nm, of low heat conductivity and which is etchable by a solution of a specific chemical compound, and of a second dielectric material (3) of low heat conductivity that is not etched by the solution.

Abstract: A method for protecting silver and silver alloy surfaces against tarnishing, characterized by initially subjecting the surface to be treated to cleaning pre-treatment in organic solvents; immersing the cleaned surface in an acid solution able to ensure formation of a thin layer of silver oxide; immersing the oxidized surface in a solution of at least one thiol of formula CH3(CH2)nSH where n is between 10 and 16; and chemically reacting the molecules of said thiol with the previously oxidized silver surface, in an environment containing water vapor at a temperature of at least 50° C.

Abstract: A multilayered stack useful for constituting a Seebeck-Peltier effect electrically conductive septum with opposite hot-side and cold-side metallizations for connection to an electrical circuit, comprises a stacked succession of layers (Ci) of electrically conductive material alternated to dielectric oxide layers (Di) in form of a continuous film or of densely dispersed nano and sub-nano particles or clusters of particles of oxide; at least the electrically conductive layers having mean thickness ranging from 5 to 100 nm and surface irregularities at the interfaces with the dielectric oxide layers of mean peak-to-valley amplitude and mean periodicity comprised between 5 to 20 nm. Various processes adapted to build a multilayered stack of these characteristics are described.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to Seebeck/Peltier effect thermoelectric conversion devices and in particular devices made of stack of dielectric layers alternated to treated semiconducting layers even of large size, not requiring lithographic patterning in a nano-micrometric scale.

Abstract: The invention relates to Seebeck/Peltier bidirectional thermoelectric conversion devices and in particular to devices employing nanowires of conductive or semiconductive material defined on a substrate by common planar technologies.

Abstract: An electric device for determining aeriform substances, made from a multi-layer structure with a layer of semiconductor material, a layer of organic material and a layer of metallic material, wherein the layer of semiconductor material has a crystalline structure, the layer of organic material has a coverage degree not greater than 1 and is made of a substance the molecules of which are self-sustaining in an ordered manner, are bound to atoms of the crystalline structure of the semiconductor and interact with said aeriform substance to be determined in the sense of modulating the barrier height of the junction within the multi-layer, and the layer of metallic material is permeable to the aeriform substance to be determined and is chemically inert towards it.