ELMSFORD, NY (February 20, 2004) - Reveo Laboratories has been awarded a contract from the NASA SBIR program to develop and modify Reveo's unique and proprietary MFT process for thermoelectric devices. This builds upon the success of Reveo's previous contract with DARPA in developing the MFT process. The MFT process is a broad enabling processing technology that can potentially affect a wide variety of industries, including microelectronics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and thermoelectronics.
Thermoelectric materials show an unique property to create a temperature gradient by using electricity, and vice versa, generate electricity when placed in a temperature gradient. Thermoelectric devices have been explored for use as ultra-compact heaters and coolers, since it doesn't require bulky fans, blowers, and other accessories. Thermoelectric devices have also been explored for use to capture waste heat and turn it into useful electricity. But their unique characteristics have not translated into commercial products due to poor system efficiency, high costs, and lack of manufacturability.
The goal of this project is to modify already developed MFT processes for thermoelectric applications, such as thermoelectric coolers/heaters and thermoelectric generators. MFT allows for thermoelectric elements to be packaged in a small amount of space, creating an ultra-dense thermoelectric heater/cooler. In conjunction with a multi-stage design, the heating/cooling range can be vastly expanded. In addition, MFT allows for high efficiency thermoelectric materials to be easily harvested in an ultra-thin profile, without wasting any of the rare, expensive material. Complex interconnects and thermal management layers can also be easily incorporated in a MFT enabled device.
Dr. Sadeg M. Faris, the inventor, and Chairman of Reveo commented, "The MFT process is a big deal due to its incredible flexibility. While it was originally developed within Reveo for the semiconductor industry, its applicability to thermoelectronics is also amazingly important. Thermoelectric devices have been widely acknolwedged as a great important invention, but researchers have struggled for years with making it useful and commercializable. The MFT process, by increasing performance, efficiency, and reducing cost, will be the enabling tool for thermoelectric devices to really take off." He added, "This contract will position us to be a leader in the field to InventQbate several companies based on MFT IP."