# US 10,866,039 B2 · Thermal transistor

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- Number: US 10,866,039 B2
- Document ID: US10866039B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/231,992
- Filed: 2018-12-25
- Published: 2019-07-11
- Granted: 2020-12-15
- Earliest claimed: 2017-12-28
- Assignees: Tsinghua University; Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Tsinghua University; Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Zheng Duan; Chang-Hong Liu; Shou-Shan Fan
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10866039B2

## CPC

- H10K 85/221: {Carbon nanotubes}
- F28C 3/005: {one heat-exchange medium being a solid (F28C3/10 takes precedence)}
- F28F 13/16: by applying an electrostatic field to the body of the heat-exchange medium
- H10K 10/40: Organic transistors
- F28F 2013/001: {Particular heat conductive materials, e.g. superconductive elements}
- F28F 2013/008: {Variable conductance materials; Thermal switches}
- F28F 2255/20: with nanostructures
- H10K: ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES
- F28C: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT WITHOUT CHEMICAL INTERACTION (safety devices in general F16P; fluid heaters having heat generating means F24H; with an intermediate heat-transfer medium coming into direct contact with heat-exchange media F28D15/00 - F28D19/00; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general application F28F)
- F28F: DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION (water and air traps, air venting F16)

## Abstract

A thermal transistor is provided. The thermal transistor includes a metallic thermal conductor, a non-metallic thermal conductor, and a thermal resistance adjusting unit. The metallic thermal conductor and the non-metallic thermal conductor are contact with each other to form a thermal interface. The thermal resistance adjusting unit is configured to generate an bias voltage U12 between the metallic thermal conductor and the non-metallic thermal conductor.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A thermal transistor, comprising: a metallic thermal conductor, a non-metallic thermal conductor, and a thermal resistance adjusting unit;
the metallic thermal conductor and the non-metallic thermal conductor are in contact with each other to form a thermal interface; wherein a material of the non-metallic thermal conductor is buckypaper with a density ranging from 1.2 g/cm3 to 1.3 g/cm3; and
the thermal resistance adjusting unit is configured to generate a bias voltage U12 between the metallic thermal conductor and the non-metallic thermal conductor.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The thermal transistor of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the metallic thermal conductor ranges from 0.1 mm to 1 mm.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The thermal transistor of claim 1, wherein a material of the metallic thermal conductor is selected from the group consisting of copper, aluminum, iron, gold, silver, and alloy thereof.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The thermal transistor of claim 1, wherein the metallic thermal conductor and the non-metallic thermal conductor are disposed in a sealed space.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The thermal transistor of claim 1, wherein the metallic thermal conductor and the non-metallic thermal conductor are disposed in a vacuum environment.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The thermal transistor of claim 1, wherein the bias voltage U12 ranges from −3V to 3V.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The thermal transistor of claim 1, wherein the thermal resistance adjusting unit comprises a voltage source electrically connected to each of the metallic thermal conductor and the non-metallic thermal conductor; the voltage source is configured to control electric potentials between the metallic thermal conductor and the non-metallic thermal conductor.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The thermal transistor of claim 7, wherein the thermal resistance adjusting unit further comprises: a first control unit electrically connected to the voltage source, the first control unit comprises a memory storing a mapping table of the bias voltage U12 versus interfacial thermal resistance.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The thermal transistor of claim 1, wherein the metallic thermal conductor comprises a first surface and a second surface; the non-metallic thermal conductor comprises a third surface and a fourth surface; the first surface and the third surface are in direct contact with each other to form the thermal interface.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The thermal transistor of claim 9, wherein each of the second surface and the fourth surface is thermally connected to a heat source or thermal device.