PTC rubber

PTC rubber is a silicone rubber which conducts electricity with a resistivity that increases exponentially with increasing temperature for all temperatures up to a temperature where the resistivity grows to infinity. Above this temperature the PTC rubber is an electrical insulator. PTC rubber is made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) loaded with carbon nanoparticles. PTC stands for Positive temperature coefficient.

If the electric field strength inside the material is large enough (typically larger than 30 V/mm), the carbon nanoparticles trigger a quantum mechanical tunneling effect current to flow through the material. The contribution from a large number of small tunneling effect currents can add up to macroscopic currents in the range of amperes. The quantum mechanical tunneling effect inside the material is highly temperature dependent. The current decreases exponentially with increasing temperature. This means that the resistivity of the material grows exponentially with increasing temperature. At a specific temperature the quantum mechanical tunneling effect current ceases. At temperatures higher than this the PTC rubber is an electrical isolator and no electrical current can flow through it. This temperature can be adjusted between 0 and 80 ^oC during the production of the PTC rubber. Hence, PTC rubber is a PTC material with very strong PTC characteristics. In fact, PTC rubber has the strongest PTC effect of all known materials, and over a wide temperature range. It has PTC properties for all temperatures.

The PTC rubber can be rolled into thin sheets and laminated with copper. The copper is in turn connected to a voltage to provide the electrical field inside the material necessary to trigger the tunneling effect. The sheets can be formed into any shape and size.

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Wikipedia