Abstract
Here, electro-thermal response of thin film heaters is investigated for a wide range of periodic metallic mesh topologies. The aim of this study is to systematically investigate the effect of topology, in particular node connectivity, on the response of these networks. First, the allowable design space is defined by developing analytical expressions for geometrical dependencies of each topology and for permissible range of parameters. Subsequently, closed-formed analytical expressions are developed to calculate the resistance of each network considering junction area compensation. Finally, transient coupled electro-thermal finite element modelling is performed for a wide range of topologies using automated CAD model generation, meshing, analysis, and post processing. The closed-form analytical expressions of resistance can quickly and accurately predict the resistance of the networks of various topologies. Incorporation of junction area compensation in particular, improves the accuracy of models considerably. The network topology has a significant impact on resistance, demonstrating up to three times higher resistance for some topologies over the range investigated when compared on the same fill factor basis. This higher resistance results in faster response time when the current density is fixed. For the same power input however, the response time is much more similar yet has a considerable spatial temperature variation can be observed. The new insights obtained in this study will help designing faster and more energy efficient thin film heaters with a wide range of applications in electronics displays, wearable technologies, energy systems, optics and photonics and multifunctional devices.