Integrated transparent surface acoustic wave technology for active de-fogging and icing protection on glass

There have been great concerns on poor visibility and hazardous issues due to fogging and ice/frost formation on glass surfaces of windshields, windows of vehicles/airplanes, and solar panels. Existing methods for their monitoring and removal include those active ones (such as using resistance heating) or passive ones (such as using surface icephobic treatments), which are not always applicable, effective or reliable. In this study, we proposed a novel strategy by implementing transparent thin film surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices by directly coating ZnO films onto glass substrate and studied their de-fogging, active anti-icing and de-icing mechanisms using the SAW technology. Effects of powers and wavelengths of SAW devices were investigated and influences of acousto-heating and surface hydrophobic treatments were evaluated. Results showed that de-fogging time was dramatically decreased with the increase of SAW powers when the thin film-based SAW devices were exposed to humid air flow for different durations. The icing accretion was significantly delayed under the applied SAW agitation, and SAW application has also effectively promoted de-icing on glass substrate, due to the interfacial nanoscale vibration and localized heating effect.