Design Description

Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) are solid-state heat pumps that utilize electrical energy to heat or cool. They are often used in laser communication systems to regulate laser temperatures or in low-noise imaging systems such as star trackers or wide field planetary cameras. The TEC has two sides where it transfers heat from one side to the other side depending on the direction of electrical current flow through it. The amount of heat being transferred depends on the magnitude of the electrical current. This results in a temperature difference between the two sides. The two sides of the TEC are known as the cold side and hot side. The ability to swap the two sides by reversing the direction of current flow allows for heating and cooling without changing any physical configurations. The following figure shows a rad-hard linear TEC driver that can accurately control the magnitude and direction of the current through the TEC without injecting any switching noise into the system.