Kapton Polyimide Heaters

Kapton Polyimide Heaters

POLYIMIDE / KAPTON® FLEXIBLE HEATERS

Epec’s Polyimide Flexible Heaters are your solution to heating curved and irregular surfaces. Due to their design, polyimide heaters can be extremely thin, as low as 0.007”, excluding any type of affixing adhesives. The etched circuit is pressed between 2-layers of polyimide film with either an FEP adhesive or an acrylic adhesive depending on the thermal characteristics required of the heater.

We offer multiple heating elements for polyimide heaters, such as stainless steel 304, CuNi44, and Inconel600, with excellent dielectric properties and operating environments between -319°F (-195°C) and 392°F (200°C). Kapton heaters also offer a quicker thermal transfer than silicone rubber heaters.

The design of a polyimide heater offers dimensional stability, superior tensile strength, and overall improved resilience. Polyimide is also resistant to most chemicals.

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Benefits of Polyimide/Kapton® Flexible Heaters

Polyimide/Kapton® heaters offer several benefits for customers looking to utilize them in many different applications. Below are some benefits of using Polyimide/Kapton flex heaters in your application.

  • Heaters have a lower temperature threshold than silicone rubber heaters, as they can operate within temperatures as low as -320°F and as high as 400°F.
  • Polyimide has superior dielectric properties as they exhibit excellent tensile strength, durability, and dimensional stability which makes it almost impossible to tear even using the thinnest dielectrics.
  • These heaters produce uniform thermal distribution which prevents uneven material expansions even with rapid heat-up and cool-down characteristics.
  • Watt densities up to 50 W/in2 (7.75 W/cm2).
  • Kapton® heaters can provide thermal stability over a wide temperature range and quicker response on thermal delivery to the surrounding mass.
  • The resistive property is inherent to the film, so it cannot be cracked, rubbed off or otherwise easily damaged.

Heaters made on Polyimide/Kapton® material have low outgassing properties which means that the release of gas that was dissolved and trapped in the creating of the material is minimal. Outgassing can be a big problem if it collects in a closed environment where air moves slowly so the lower the emissions the better. Outgassed products can condense onto lenses and other sensors which is a problem if it collects in a closed environment.