Evaluation of Joule Heating Distribution and Heat Transfer Characteristic of Silver Nanowire Network

Abstract

The transient temperature distribution of silver nanowire network induced by Joule heating is described in this study to evaluate the path of the electric current and the heat transfer characteristics. We measured the two-dimensional temperature distribution using thermo-reflectance imaging (TRI) method and conducted the numerical computation based on the equivalent circuit model. The measurement results showed that a non-uniform temperature distribution is formed and we could represent the probability density distribution of the temperature by Weibull distribution. The computational results showed that the junctions located in the electrical paths produce large amount of heat and the heat is transferred to adjacent nanowires by heat conduction. We found that the heat transfer rate decreases at the points of high Joule heating (high temperature) where the electrical paths merge and produce high current density. This indicated that the high temperature regions of the nanowire network are augmented in transient state of Joule heating.