5. Conclusion

Electrocaloric materials come in a wide variety of forms (ceramics, single crystals, polymers, thick films and thin films), each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The highest densities of converted energy are obtained with very thin structures (polymers and thin films), thanks to the possibility of applying very intense electric fields (> 50 kV/mm).

Thin-film technology opens up many possibilities for optimization through the choice of successive layers to be deposited, but requires a great deal of research to achieve both very high energy densities and sufficient volumes of active materials for applications.

A number of electrocaloric cooling demonstrators demonstrate the feasibility of this type of refrigeration.