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In this work, a new design concept which combines two-stage design with transient supercooling effect is proposed to enhance the maximum temperature drop across thermoelectric coolers (TECs). A three-dimensional, multiphysics, and transient model is used to examine the design effectiveness. Step current pulses with various amplitudes (P) and widths (τ) are supplied to the two stages of a two-stage TEC in series. The results show that, as compared with the single-stage counterpart, a significant improvement in the maximum cold-end temperature drop (ΔT_c,max) is observed for the two-stage TEC. Meanwhile, the new design also greatly reduces the temperature overshoot (T_c,max) and increases the holding time of supercooling state (Δt_hold). Subsequently, effects of the pulse amplitude, width, and shape are discussed and two important geometry parameters: the cross-sectional area ratio of p-type leg to n …