Fig. 2: Thermal switching ratio validation.
From: Bistable origami thermal switch with high switching ratios
a Schematic of the high-vacuum steady-state thermal test platform. The setup consists of upper and lower stainless steel reference bars; each embedded with three high-precision thermocouples. The lower bar interfaces with a heat sink, while the upper bar incorporates a Joule heater and is suspended from the frame by thermally insulating nylon threads attached to its top surface. The BOS is sandwiched between the two reference bars. b, c Photographs of the test setup in ON/OFF states, and the temperature-time profiles recorded by the six thermocouples. d Steady-state temperature distributions along the bars for the ON/OFF states. Interfacial temperature discontinuities (\({\Delta T}_{{on}/{off}}\)) are determined via linear extrapolation of bar temperatures. e Temperature distributions of the BOS by finite element simulations. f Comparative analysis of the off-state conductance (\({G}_{{off}}\)) in vacuum between this work and other representative contact-based thermal switches, where the contributions from conduction/radiation pathways are highlighted. g Theoretical switching design space, showing the dependence of the switching ratio on arm width and height. h Performance benchmarking against existing active and passive thermal switches11,14,15,46,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60, comparing switching ratios (\(\rho\)) and response times under vacuum/ambient conditions (Table S2).
