Magnetocaloric refrigeration is increasingly being explored as an alternative technology for cooling. This paper presents the design and fabrication of a micromachined magnetocaloric cooler. The cooler consists of fluidic microchannels (in a Si wafer), diffused temperature sensors, and a Gd5(Si2Ge2) magnetocaloric refrigeration element. A magnetic field of 1.5 T is applied using an electromagnet to change the entropy of the magnetocaloric element for different ambient temperature conditions ranging from 258 K to 280 K, and the results are discussed. The tests show a maximum temperature change of 7 K on the magnetocaloric element at 258 K. The experimental results co-relate well with the entropy change of the material.

Volume Subject Area:
Microelectromechanical Systems
Topics:
Design, Manufacturing, Microcoolers, Entropy, Refrigeration, Temperature, Cooling, Electromagnets, Magnetic fields, Microchannels, Micromachining, Semiconductor wafers, Temperature sensors
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