Nextreme Thermal Solutions
High efficiency capabilities for converting heat to electrical energy and for emplaced sensors and equipment
Nextreme Thermal Solutions develops and manufactures embedded thermoelectric components (eTECs) utilizing novel superlattice nanotechnology. Nextreme’s eTEC operates as either a miniature heat pump for rapid cooling and heating or as a power generator for converting heat into electricity. Nextreme’s solid-state devices provide extreme power density, ultra-small size, very fast response time, high efficiency as well as semiconductor fabrication scalability. These advantages allow the Nextreme eTEC to address a broad array of defense, aerospace and commercial applications.
As a heat pump, Nextreme’s eTEC provides pinpoint thermal control for high heat fluxes. Devices are very thin, providing an industry first—the embedding of an active device directly inside a semiconductor package. Applications include: cooling semiconductor hotspots to increase reliability and performance; controlling junction temperature of photonics chips to tune their wavelength; managing temperature in monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) to control temperature-sensitive parameters; actuating micro-fluidic valves; and thermally cycling DNA amplification chips to increase throughput.
As a power generator, Nextreme’s eTEC produces electricity from a temperature differential applied across the device. Nextreme’s eTEC can generate electricity by scavanging low-grade, waste heat with less than 120 ºC temperature differential. Nextreme’s eTEC can also handle high heat fluxes to minimize size. Applications include: powering remote devices, such as wireless sensor networks; harvesting energy from combustion processes, such as turbines and engines; and generating power in harsh, remote environments.
Based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Nextreme was founded in December, 2004 to commercialize the superlattice nanotechnology that was under development for more than ten years at RTI International (www.rti.org). In-Q-Tel initially invested in Nextreme in October, 2005. For more information about Nextreme, please visit www.nextremethermal.com.
Technology Focus Areas
- Physical and Biological Technologies
- Security
- Software and Infrastructure
