Dual-Mode Gated Thermal Switch with Branched Interface for Self-Adaptive Thermoregulation

Thermal switches gain intense interest for dynamic thermal management of electronics, battery, and space applications under variable operating conditions. However, current approaches have limitations such as sharp state transition (binary “on” and “off” states, ×2) and being unable to simultaneously achieve self-initiated thermal startup and real-time responsiveness. Here, a dual-mode thermal switch with a passive thermal diode and active magnetic-gated switching characteristics is proposed and demonstrated using a branched interface and discrete plugs. Where passive-mode provides an asymmetric difference of 21.47 K, active-mode achieves multiple tuned freedom (×19). In contrast with conventional research, these switches provide an opportunity for thermal circuits to dissipate more heat of 11.83 K/mm on a small scale and control almost 20 thermal transients (5.5–9.5 times). Higher thermal regulation flexibility not only offers potential for dynamic control of operating temperatures, including some atypical environments (e.g., hot winter day), but also renders thermal switches amenable for scenarios where external stimuli, excluding temperature fluctuation, cannot manually intervene.