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Transparent Conductors · Organic Electronics

High-Temperature Transparent Polymer Heater

Invented a transparent all-polymer Joule-heater platform enabled by solution-processable n-PBDF, combining optical transparency, low haze, scalable coating, and high-temperature electrothermal operation.

Transparent polymer heater paper abstract graphic
Graphical abstract for the transparent polymer heater project.

Overview

This project translated n-PBDF, a stable n-type conducting polymer, into scalable transparent conductor and electrothermal device technology. The work centered on a transparent all-polymer Joule-heater platform enabled by solution-processable n-PBDF, connecting materials chemistry, ink formulation, thin-film processing, device engineering, optical/electrical/thermal characterization, reliability testing, and proof-of-concept application demonstrations.

My role

I led the project end-to-end across materials development, ethanol-based ink formulation, ultrasonic spray process optimization, thin-film fabrication, device engineering, electrothermal characterization, reliability testing, and technical communication. I also integrated the heaters into commercially available motorcycle visor and ski-goggle platforms as proof-of-concept demonstrations.

Key outcomes

  • Invented a transparent all-polymer Joule-heater platform enabled by solution-processable n-PBDF.
  • Developed a scalable ethanol-based ink and ultrasonic spray-coating process for nanometer-thick transparent conductor films.
  • Connected optical transparency, haze, sheet resistance, thermal performance, reliability, and device geometry to practical electrothermal operation.
  • Integrated transparent heaters into commercially available motorcycle visor and ski-goggle platforms for proof-of-concept demonstrations.
  • Translated the work into a first-author publication and provisional patent filing.

Project media

Featured demo
Video demonstration of the transparent polymer heater deicing a frost-covered glass substrate under applied voltage (12V) atop a block of dry ice (-78.5 °C).
Application demo
Application demonstration photos showing the integration of the n-PBDF transparent heater on a pair of commercially available ski goggles. Used to demonstrate strong performance in real-world use scenarios.
Application demo
Application demonstration photos showing the integration of the n-PBDF transparent heater on a commercially available motorcycle helmet. Used to demonstrate strong performance in real-world use scenarios.
Application demo
Infrared thermal images comparing OFF and ON states of the heater, and used to evaluate and visualize heater temperature distribution uniformity and performance on a motorcycle visor and ski goggle.
Application demo
Application demonstration photos showing transparent heater prototypes on eyewear and motorcycle visor platforms.
Custom instrumentation
Custom-made high-throughput electrothermal testing instrumentation setup used to evaluate heater performance across a range of voltage, current, and temperature conditions.
Custom instrumentation
Custom-made LabVIEW control and data-acquisition interface used to apply voltage, current, and record time-resolved heater performance data across multiple samples and test conditions.
Reliability testing & Custom instrumentation
Custom-built bending tester used to evaluate flexible transparent heater durability under repeated mechanical deformation.
Featured demo
Ultrasonic spray-coating demonstration showing the scalable solution-processing of transparent polymer heater films.