SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY HEAT SINK

摘要

There is disclosed herein a heat sink composed of a one-way or two-way shape memory alloy (SMA) having a predetermined martensite/austenite transformation temperature. The heat sink (10) comprises a stationary base portion (12) capable of being thermally attached to an electronic device (50), and at least one deflectable fin portion (14) contiguous with and extending from the base portion (12). Each fin portion (14) exhibits or is bent into a first shape when the heat sink (10) is below the transformation temperature. When the heat sink (10) is at or above the transformation temperature, the SMA material converts thermal energy from the device (50) into mechanical deformation energy such that each fin portion (14) self-deflects into a second shape.