Rapid Defrost Transparent Thin-Film Heater with Flexibility and Chemical Stability

Zn-doped SnO_x/Ag/Zn-doped SnO_x(ZTO/Ag/ZTO) multilayer thin films fabricated on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate using an optimized N₂-to-(Ar + O₂) gas ratio are used for transparent thin-film heaters with high performance and chemical stability. The ZTO/Ag/ZTO-based multilayer thin film exhibits enhanced durability at high temperatures and humid environments by incorporating nitrogen. The bending test results-there was no significant change in the sheet resistance even after 10,000 bending cycles-highlight the mechanical flexibility of the ZTO/Ag/ZTO multilayer thin film. The ZTO/Ag/ZTO-based thin-film heater on PET, fabricated under optimized deposition gas conditions, exhibits a fast thermal response time of 30 s and a low driving voltage of 6 V to attain 100 °C. It also exhibits uniform heat distribution at saturated temperature and chemical stability after 100 heating-cooling cycles. Hence, the proposed ZTO/Ag/ZTO-based thin-film heater is applicable for use in front and rear window automobile and building applications.