JPH08186205A - Temperature control device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a compact temperature control device which brings a Peltier element into thermal contact with a heat sink member held at a temperature which is different from an ambient temperature and heats and cools a temperature control object by large heat flow flux in a short time. CONSTITUTION: The title device is provided with a Peltier element 1 with one side wherein a temperature control object 3 is arranged and the other side wherein a heat sink member 6 is arranged to be brought into thermal contact and an electric control circuit 12 which accelerates electronic cold heat by energization which inverses polarity to the Peltier element 1, and generates rapid temperature change in a temperature control object by electronic cold heat during non-steady heat conduction of a heat sink member. Here, an electronic control circuit makes an energization state changeable according to a signal which shows an operational state of a laser 3 of a temperature control object or a detection signal of a temperature sensor which is arranged in one side of the Peltier element 1, a method for controlling a temperature control object by a predetermined temperature profile is disclosed and desired temperature control is thereby realized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for controlling the temperature of an object by energizing the Peltier device by reversing the polarity, and more particularly to a temperature control device for the object to be temperature controlled which rapidly heats or cools the object to be temperature controlled. More specifically, the present invention relates to a compact temperature control device that utilizes unsteady heat conduction that causes a high heat flux when an object to be temperature-controlled is instantly heated and cooled.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of controlling the temperature of an object, a heating / cooling device using an electronic cooling / heating element utilizing the Peltier effect and having no movable part for electronic heating / electronic cooling has been known. For example, a Peltier element thermomodule cooling device is usually designed based on steady-state cooling performance of heat conduction and heat flux (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-82450).
No. 61-172358, 63-686.
4, JP-A-1-143347 and JP-A-4-16.
2551 publication). Thermo modules are expected to have good performance when they have low thermal conductivity and high electrical conductivity, but none of them satisfy these physically contradictory characteristics.
The thermo module that has been put into practical use has a poor cooling performance in a steady state. Therefore, in order to improve the performance, the thermomodules are stacked in multiple stages and the element itself generates heat, so that the cooling capacity is increased by using an appropriate cooling means such as air cooling or water cooling. However, in the case of multiple stages, not only the efficiency is lowered because it is necessary to stack a large-capacity element sequentially, but also the heat control during steady heat conduction becomes difficult, and the temperature control capable of rapid cooling cannot be performed.

[0003]

In such a conventional cooling device, when the thermo module is made thin and compact, the heat conduction component in the element increases and the cooling performance is impaired.
It was difficult to miniaturize the design during steady heat conduction, and it was not possible to cope with rapid and dynamic heat load fluctuations. It has been desired to provide a temperature control method for an object or a temperature control device that is suitable for solving these problems. Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned deficiencies, and an object thereof is to provide a new and improved temperature control device and its method. In other words, it is a compact and compact electronic temperature control device that can rapidly cool an object that is subjected to a high heat load during unsteady heat conduction, and can immediately respond to sudden dynamic heat load fluctuations. The purpose is to provide a control method.

[0004]

According to the present invention, a Peltier element having one surface on which a temperature controlled object is arranged and the other surface on which a heat sink member is arranged in thermal contact,
It is equipped with a thermo module that keeps the heat sink member at a temperature different from the ambient temperature by radiating or absorbing heat, and an electric control circuit that reverses the polarity to the Peltier element and energizes it to electronic cold heat. ,
Disclosed is a temperature control device that rapidly changes the temperature of a temperature-controlled object by electronic cold heat of a Peltier element. here,
The thermo module can also be configured with another Peltier element to make the heat sink member a temperature different from the ambient temperature, and the electric control circuit has a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the Peltier element or the temperature controlled object on one surface. You may arrange. The detection signal of the temperature sensor can be a signal for changing the energized state as needed. Further, a signal for controlling the temperature controlled object to a predetermined temperature profile is calculated and set by a computer, and thereby desired electronic cooling / heating can be realized. In other words,
When the Peltier element is energized by reversing the polarity from the electric control circuit, a large heat flux with unsteady heat conduction is generated in the heat sink member, causing rapid cooling or heating of the temperature controlled object in a short time. A temperature control device is provided.

In another aspect of the present invention, the Peltier device has a temperature controlled object thermally coupled to one surface thereof,
A heat sink member is thermally coupled and arranged on the other surface, and a predetermined reversing energizing current is supplied to the Peltier device from the electric control circuit to this thermo module to promote electronic cooling and to reduce the temperature of the temperature controlled object. A temperature control method is disclosed in which the temperature is rapidly changed. In this case, the heat sink member is a material having a large thermal conductivity such as copper, aluminum, or diamond, and the thermo module is thermally coupled and arranged on the side opposite to the thermal contact arrangement with the Peltier element. Keep it at a different temperature than the surroundings. Further, the heat sink member is arranged such that if one surface is the heating surface of the Peltier element, the other surface is the cooling surface of the thermo module, and a large heat flux is generated by effectively utilizing the electronic cooling effect of the Peltier element. To generate rapid cold heat. Further, a heat radiating / heat absorbing member is arranged on another surface of the thermo module as needed, and the heat radiating function is exerted in the cooling mode.

[0006]

In the temperature control device described above, a large heat flux is generated by utilizing the heat diffusion / heat conduction of the heat sink member, and a rapid cooling action for a short time is generated. For example, in the case of rapidly cooling the temperature controlled object, the temperature controlled object is placed in thermal contact with the cooling surface of the Peltier element and the heat sink member is placed in thermal contact with the heating surface. The polarity is reversed and switched to the cooling mode. As a result, a large heat flux is generated in the heat sink member within a short time of several milliseconds to several tens of seconds after the start of cooling, and heat diffusion due to unsteady heat conduction occurs. This unsteady heat conduction is found to be several tens of times that of steady state heat conduction, and the instantaneous cooling performance is enhanced by several tens of times. Therefore, the present invention is a temperature control device using electronic Peltier device using electronic Peltier heat, a semiconductor device that operates at high power in a short time and changes in temperature, or a crystal growth cell that reacts under microgravity or zero gravity for a short time during falling. It effectively functions by being applied to the temperature control of the target substance.

On the other hand, the temperature-controlled object to be processed in a short time due to unsteady heat conduction is operated according to a predetermined temperature profile in order to perform temperature control in a steady state in advance. For example, when the temperature controlled object is held at a high temperature in advance and then rapidly cooled, the Peltier element heats the temperature controlled object to a steady heat conduction state, and then the polarity is reversed to supply a large current for a short time. Achieve cooling. Therefore, the rapid electronic cooling utilizing the unsteady heat conduction between the Peltier element and the heat sink member realizes a compact, highly accurate, and optionally dynamic temperature control method. Note that unsteady heat conduction means the unsteady state used for the steady-state operation process.While steady heat conduction refers to heat conduction when the temperature does not change with time, it refers to unsteady heat conduction. It is called heat conduction, and a general fin is an example of steady heat conduction that forms an enlarged heat transfer surface and effectively transfers heat. Usually, as a law of heat conduction, the amount of heat that passes through a unit area in an object per unit time q (Kw / m2)
Is called heat flux and is expressed by a general formula.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The drawings show a temperature control device for an electronic device according to the present invention, and disclose a temperature control method in which an array of a plurality of high-power semiconductor lasers is used as a temperature controlled object. This temperature control device comprises a Peltier element 1, a semiconductor laser 3 arranged so as to be in thermal contact with one electrode surface 4a of the element with a silica coating 2 interposed therebetween, and a silica laser so as to make thermal contact with the other electrode surface 4b. The heat sink member 6 is made of a flat plate copper material and is arranged in thermal contact with the coating film 5 interposed therebetween. A plurality of semiconductor lasers 3 are arranged on one surface of the Peltier device 1 in a thermally coupled state to form a high power semiconductor laser array. In addition, the thermomodule 7 is arranged via the silica coating 8 so as to be in thermal contact with the back surface side of the heat sink member 6 which is flat and has a large thickness. This thermo module 7 is for keeping the heat sink member 6 at a temperature that is different from the ambient temperature constantly, for example, from -10 ° C to 0 ° C, which is a temperature lower than the ambient temperature, during steady heat conduction.
Radiating fins 9 are attached to the thermo module 7.

The above-mentioned temperature control device uses the heat insulating material 10 so as to thermally insulate the Peltier element, which acts as an electronic cold, and the heat sink member, which has a large thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity, from the external atmosphere.
Surrounded by. A temperature sensor 11 is individually mounted on the mounting surface of the semiconductor laser 3 of the temperature-controlled object for temperature detection, and an electric control circuit 12 is provided for driving the Peltier device 1. The wiring from the temperature sensor 11 is individually connected to the electric control circuit. The thermo module 7 may be a normal water-cooled / air-cooled cooling mechanism, but may be energized and driven by the electric control circuit 12 using another Peltier element for compactness and efficiency. It should be noted that the silica coating is a substance having excellent electrical insulation and good thermal conductivity, and may be any substance having desired electrical / thermal characteristics. Also,
In addition to copper, a material having a large thermal conductivity such as aluminum or diamond is used for the heat sink member according to the usage environment, and the material is selected in consideration of thermal characteristics.

Next, the operation of this temperature control device will be described. The high-power semiconductor laser 3 that is a temperature-controlled object is driven intermittently and rapidly heats, but in order to stably drive this, rapid cooling must be dealt with, and the temperature control device of the present invention is applied. . Further, when not driven, it is desired to maintain a predetermined temperature so as to avoid a problem due to dew condensation in order to perform an operation with optimum efficiency, and the Peltier element 1 is appropriately heated. Therefore, in the temperature control device of the present invention, the Peltier element 1 is operated in the heating mode so as to heat the laser 3 of the temperature controlled object to a steady state. The energization control from the electric control circuit 12 may be performed according to the operating state of the laser 3 or the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 11. The energization control including the polarity reversal is performed from a state in which the Peltier element 1 is heated on the surface on which the temperature-controlled object is arranged and the laser 3 is maintained at a predetermined temperature to a state in which the laser 3 whose temperature rises at the start of operation is rapidly cooled. Change. The temperature sensor 11 detects the temperature of the arrangement surface of the control object. If necessary, the energization control of the electric control circuit 12 can be performed by this signal. The cooling mode by polarity reversal and energization enhancement of the electric control circuit 12 is instantaneous and is a short time within a few milliseconds to tens of seconds, but a large heat flux is generated from the Peltier element 1 toward the heat sink member 6. This generated heat quickly diffuses due to the unsteady heat conduction characteristic of the heat sink member 6, is absorbed very efficiently, and rapid cooling is achieved. This cooling performance reaches several tens of times that in the steady state, and the laser 3 is operated while being maintained at an efficient operating temperature.

On the other hand, the heat sink member 6 is maintained at an appropriate low temperature by the action of the thermo module 7, and transfers the heat generated by the abrupt change to the Peltier element 1 to diffuse and suppress it. As a result, the temperature control of the semiconductor laser 3 thermally arranged in contact with the cooling surface of the Peltier element 1 is performed extremely quickly and accurately, and stable operation is realized without a time lag. In addition, the entire temperature control device is thermally insulated from the outside by the heat insulating material 10 to prevent an increase in heat loss and dew formation of components such as a Peltier element, a heat sink member and a thermomodule, thereby improving reliability. . The movement of electrons is much faster than the movement of thermal energy, and the electric control for the Peltier device that cools electrons is
By including the memory circuit and computer control, the temperature control function can be achieved more intelligently and actively.

In the above-described embodiment, the heat sink member is made of a relatively thick flat plate copper material, but it is made of a conical or truncated pyramidal member, and the Peltier element side with the temperature controlled object is on the small area side and the thermo module. It is preferable to increase the heat diffusion and heat transfer efficiency by setting the side to the large area side. According to experiments, it is preferable to select a large area side in the range of 2 to 9 when the small area side is set to 1, and it is not preferable to exceed 9 since the apparatus itself becomes large. In particular,
In order to simplify the configuration by using the electronic cooling / heating element and to make the temperature control device compact and compact, this ratio should be set to 2
It is desirable to select within the range of 4. Further, such a temperature control device can be applied not only to a high-power semiconductor laser array, but also to a crystal growth cell that is processed in a short time. In particular, an experiment for observing crystal growth under weightlessness during falling is performed. Effective for equipment. In this case, the temperature can be accurately controlled according to the preset temperature profile, and the experimental apparatus becomes compact and small.

[0013]

As shown in the above embodiments, the temperature control device of the present invention is a combination of a Peltier element and a heat sink member having a large heat flux, and current control by polarity reversal is performed to perform heat diffusion during unsteady heat conduction. Because it uses, it realizes rapid cooling and heating for a short time. In particular, since the electronic cooling / heating function has no moving parts, it is applied to precise experiments and manufacturing equipment as a temperature control device without vibration or failure, and is of great value in terms of industrial use.
In addition, it is possible to exert more than ten times as much cooling capacity as the steady-state cooling action, which is useful for instantaneous temperature control in a short time, and is put to practical use in a programmed temperature profile control method.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of a temperature control device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Peltier element 3 Semiconductor laser (temperature controlled object) 6 Heat sink member 7 Thermo module 11 Temperature sensor 12 Electric control circuit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A Peltier element having one surface on which a temperature controlled object is arranged and the other surface on which a heat sink member is arranged in thermal contact, and a temperature different from ambient temperature due to heat dissipation or heat absorption of the heat sink member. A thermo module for holding and an electric control circuit for reversing the polarity of electricity to the Peltier element to promote electronic cooling are provided, and a high heat flux is generated at the time of unsteady heat conduction of the heat sink member. A temperature control device characterized in that the temperature of the temperature controlled object is rapidly changed by cold heat. 2. The thermo module comprises a second Peltier element, which maintains the heat sink member at a predetermined temperature steadily and causes a large heat flux during unsteady heat conduction, so that the object to be temperature-controlled rapidly changes in a short time. The temperature control device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling or heating is generated. 3. The electrical control circuit comprises a memory circuit,
The temperature control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature controlled object is controlled to have a predetermined temperature profile by changing the energization state according to a signal given in advance. 4. The electric control circuit arranges a temperature sensor on one surface of the Peltier element, controls energization according to a detection signal of the sensor, and rapidly cools or heats a temperature-controlled object in a short time. The temperature control device according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control device is generated. 5. The temperature controlled object is a seed crystal of a crystal growth cell,
It is an object that is exposed to a high heat load for a short time such as a high-power type semiconductor device and a pulse radar wave oscillation output element, and the Peltier element is energized by a temperature profile previously recorded in the electric control circuit to be rapidly cooled. The temperature control device according to claim 3, which is characterized in that. 6. A Peltier element is provided with a temperature controlled object on one surface thereof, and a heat sink member, which is constantly maintained at a temperature different from the ambient temperature, is thermally coupled and arranged on the other surface of the Peltier element. An electric current that reverses polarity is supplied from an electric control circuit to promote electronic cooling, and a rapid temperature change that gives a high heat flux to the heat sink member is given to rapidly heat or cool the temperature controlled object in a short time. Temperature control method. 7. The heat sink member is arranged such that a thermo module is arranged in thermal contact on the side opposite to the side where the Peltier element is arranged, and the thermo module constantly maintains a temperature different from the ambient temperature. 6. The temperature control method according to 6.