Ultrasonic Punching with Inkjet-Printed Dot Array for Fabrication of Perforated Metal Pattern as Transparent Heater

This study introduces an aluminum transparent heater manufactured with a perforated pattern by using inkjet printing process. The polymeric sacrificial layer was deposited in a periodic dot arrangement by inkjet printing and a aluminum thin film was deposited using a vacuum deposition process. By the ultrasonic punching to remove inkjet-printed sacrificial layer, the transparent electrode with perforated metal pattern was formed. From the multiphysics simulation, it is investigated that the narrow region of the perforated pattern is efficient to generate Joule heating. The relationship between electrical and thermal properties is investigated by adjusting the spacing of holes in the aluminum grid. Finally, the performance of the fabricated transparent heater is demonstrated that ice cube placed on top of the manufactured transparent heater is removed within 120 s. This ultrasonic punching with inkjet-printed sacrificial layer is expected to be applicable to various applications. This study presents the aluminum transparent heater with a perforated pattern, manufactured using an inkjet printing process and vacuum deposition. Efficient Joule heating is achieved by optimizing the spacing of holes in the aluminum grid. The fabricated heater demonstrates its efficacy by melting an ice within 120 s. This technique has potential for diverse applications.image (c) 2024 WILEY-VCH GmbH