Design of Flexible Printed Heater to Improve Uniform Heating

Because of versatile applications, heater design is important for flexible printed heaters. Trace-based printed heater, one of the commonly used flexible printed heaters, has a challenge in uniform heating. In this paper, simulations were conducted to study effects of trace width and gap on heating performance of trace-based printed heater. Heating performance can be enhanced by adjacent traces in multiple traces as compared to the case of individual trace. Such heating enhancement as well as the heating uniformity varies with trace gap. Based on the temperature profile variations with trace gap that have been found in simulations, printed heater design can be done according to the required heating uniformity. Besides the internal traces, external trace and trace edge can be adjusted to facilitate heating uniformity. Narrower external trace and trace edge can compensate the lower temperatures at heater boundaries. By choosing proper widths and gaps for internal and external traces, printed heater with good heating uniformity can be design.