A plate-fin heat exchanger is a type of heat exchanger design that uses plates and finned chambers to transfer heat between fluids. It is often categorized as a compact heat exchanger to emphasise its relatively high heat transfer surface area to volume ratio. The delicate design as well as the thin channels in the plate-fin heat exchanger make cleaning difficult or impossible. 

The plate-fin heat exchanger is widely used in many industries, including the aerospace industry for its compact size and lightweight properties, as well as in cryogenics where its ability to facilitate heat transfer with small temperature differences is utilized.Plate-fin heat exchangers are generally applied in industries where the fluids have little chances of fouling.