I have a thin 2×2 mm surface that I'm trying to cool by 5-10 degrees Celsius in 1 second or less. Some very rough back-of-the-envelope calculations reveal that I need to remove ~50 mJ of energy to do this.
I've been thinking of using a Peltier module, but have no real experience with TECs, and therefore don't know exactly what to look for in terms of specs. The speed of the temperature change is my primary consideration. My questions:
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Are there any manufacturers that sell very small Peltier modules that would roughly match my specifications, in prototyping quantities?
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Are there any further considerations that I've missed?
Best Answer
As well as the other stuff people have said, you may also need to be careful about the lifetime of the modules under such aggressive cycling. Differential thermal expansion rates mean cycling is a cause of 'wear' to Peltier modules, and it's reasonable to think that the faster the ramp-rates are, the worse this wear will be.
You can certainly get small coolers, though - somewhere like here, for example:
http://www.kryothermusa.com/indexf526.html?tid=48