Improving the electrical and thermal properties of the AgNW transparent heater by applying an indium tin oxide coating via sputtering method

Transparent heaters (HT) based on silver nanowires (AgNWs) often encounter issues with high resistance at the junctions between the wires, resulting in localized high Joule-heating temperatures that can lead to the breakdown of the AgNWs. In this paper, an indim tin oxide (ITO) layer was coated on AgNWs by sputtering method to improve the electrical and thermal properties of AgNW THs. Initially, the bare AgNW HT had a high sheet resistance of about 205.43 Ω/. After ITO sputtering, the sheet resistance sharply decreased from 205.43 Ω/ to 30.17 Ω/, while the transmittance at the wavelngth of 550 nm was slightly reduced from 93.01% to 84.21%. The optimal AgNW/ITO thermal heater (TH) was observed at 10 sputtering min, resulting in a sheet resistance of 30.17 Ω/, a transmittance of 84.21%, and a figure of merit of 69.63. The maximum Joule-heating temperature of the AgNW/ITO reached 250.9 °C at 11 V, which was 157 °C higher than that of bare AgNW, with a more uniform heat distribution. Additionally, the thermal stability of the AgNW/ITO THs was improved by 140 °C compared to bare AgNW TH during hot plate testing. These results demonstrate that ITO-coated AgNW has excellent potential for applications in transparent heaters.