Thermal switches, thermal diodes, thermal regulators

Especially in electronics, the problem of insufficient cooling with current processes (extended surfaces, forced convection) is a problem due to the increasing thermal power, which is released on individual electronic components. Thermal control elements offer a completely new dimension for controlling heat flux in such applications. The most important elements are the thermal switch, the thermal diode, the thermal regulator and the thermal transistor. In analogy with electric circuits, we can construct thermal circuits with them.

Thermal control elements are currently one of the most important activities in the field of energy conversion, sensors, microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip devices.