Heat pipes with a fibre wick are particularly useful with the ongoing trend towards miniaturization. Columbia-Staver have supplied Flat Miniature Heat Pipes (FMHP), with thicknesses down as low as 0.4mm with new types of composite fibre wick structures specifically for the thermal management of mobile handheld devices.

The composite fibre structure often consist of a combination of copper fibres and axial grooves that act as a capillary wick along the inner wall of the heat pipe. The envelope of FMHP?s is commonly made of copper and the working fluid is pure deionised water. Depending on size and thickness an FMHP is easily capable of transferring heat fluxes in the range of 1?6 W/cm2 often given by mobile-handheld chipsets. FMHPs with composite fibre wicks will find prospective applications in the cooling of the compact handheld devices like tablets and mobile phones.