Flexible Polymer/Metal/Polymer and Polymer/Metal/Inorganic Trilayer Transparent Conducting Thin Film Heaters with Highly Hydrophobic Surface

Polymer/metal/polymer and polymer/metal/inorganic trilayer-structured transparent electrodes with fluorocarbon plasma polymer thin film heaters have been proposed. The polymer/metal/polymer and polymer/metal/inorganic transparent conducting thin films fabricated on a large-area flexible polymer substrate using a continuous roll-to-roll sputtering process show excellent electrical properties and visible-light transmittance. They also exhibit water-repelling surfaces to prevent wetting and to remove contamination. In addition, the adoption of a fluorocarbon/metal/fluorocarbon film permits an outer bending radius as small as 3 mm. These films have a sheet resistance of less than 5 Ω sq-1, sufficient to drive light-emitting diode circuits. The thin film heater with the fluorocarbon/Ag/SiNx structure exhibits excellent heating characteristics, with a temperature reaching 180 °C under the driving voltage of 13 V. Therefore, the proposed polymer/metal/polymer and polymer/metal/inorganic transparent conducting electrodes using polymer thin films can be applied in flexible and rollable displays as well as automobile window heaters and other devices.