Thermal metamaterial for low power MEMS thermal control

A micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) device, comprising:

• a thermal isolation scaffold;
• a metamaterial comprising an array of MEMS thermal switches on the thermal isolation scaffold, each of the MEMS thermal switches comprising:
• a substrate layer including a first material having a first thermal conductivity;
• a thermal bus over a first portion of the substrate layer, the thermal bus including a second material having a second thermal conductivity that is higher than the first thermal conductivity;
• an insulator layer over a second portion of the substrate layer, the insulator layer including a third material that is different from the first and second materials, the insulator layer including a first portion having a first height, and a second portion having a second height that is less than the first height;
• and
• a thermal pad supported by the first portion of the insulator layer, the thermal pad including the second material and having an overhang portion, wherein the overhang portion is located over a portion of the thermal bus;
• and
• a voltage source electrically coupled to each thermal pad of each of the MEMS thermal switches;
• wherein when a voltage is applied from the voltage source, an electrostatic interaction occurs in the MEMS thermal switches, between each thermal pad and each thermal bus, to cause a deflection of the overhang portion of the thermal pad toward the thermal bus, thereby providing thermal conductivity between the thermal pad and the thermal bus.