Electronic transistors are central to modern electronics. These devices precisely control the flow of electricity, but in doing so, they generate heat. Now, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have developed a solid-state thermal transistor—the first device of its kind that can use an electric field to control the flow of heat through electronics. Their study, which was recently published in Science, demonstrates the capabilities of the new technology.

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      1 year ago

      Not specifically. The article references a paper in Science: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo4297. I haven’t been able to find a publically available version of the Science paper.

      The device in the Nature article is very large, “centimetre-scale”, and works via magnetism. It is also not really controllable, as it responds to change in temperature. The Science article device is electronically controlled.

      However, progress has generally been limited by slow response times and low tunability in thermal conductance.

      This might be in reference to the kind of device in the Nature article, however it does not directly cite the other article.