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

Zn-doped SnOx/Ag/Zn-doped SnOx(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.