An example method includes: (i) depositing an insulating layer on a substrate; (ii) forming a conductive polymer layer on the insulating layer; and (iii) repeating deposition of a respective insulating layer, and formation of a respective conductive polymer layer to form a multilayer stack of respective conductive polymer layers interposed between respective insulating layers. Each respective conductive polymer layer has a respective electrical resistance, such that when the respective conductive polymer layers are connected in parallel to a power source, a resultant electrical resistance of the respective conductive polymer layers is less than each respective electrical resistance.

An example method includes: (i) depositing an insulating layer on a substrate; (ii) forming a conductive polymer layer on the insulating layer; and (iii) repeating deposition of a respective insulating layer, and formation of a respective conductive polymer layer to form a multilayer stack of respective conductive polymer layers interposed between respective insulating layers. Each respective conductive polymer layer has a respective electrical resistance, such that when the respective conductive polymer layers are connected in parallel to a power source, a resultant electrical resistance of the respective conductive polymer layers is less than each respective electrical resistance.

Provided are a novel dielectric material and a novel electrostrictive material. The dielectric material or electrostrictive material comprises a charge-separation type non-coulombic ionic solid in which complex cations each composed of a metal element and a ligand are aggregated to form cation clusters, the cation clusters are arranged in a closest packed structure, and anions are aggregated to form anion clusters in interstices of the closest packed structure.

There is provided a temperature sensor element including a pair of electrodes and a temperature-sensitive film disposed in contact with the pair of electrodes, in which the temperature-sensitive film includes a matrix resin and a plurality of conductive domains contained in the matrix resin, the conductive domains include a conjugated polymer and a dopant, and the number of structural units constituting the conjugated polymer is 65 or less.

A thermistor layer of the present invention is configured to be disposed in an electrical current path. The thermistor layer comprises a thermosensitive particle, a plurality of electro-conductive particles covering a surface of the thermosensitive particle, and a binder adhering the electro-conductive particles, the electro-conductive particles form an electro-conductive network, at least the surface of the thermosensitive particle is made of a thermoplastic resin, the thermoplastic resin softens at a temperature lower than a temperature at which the binder softens, and the thermistor layer is provided to become highly resistive due to softening and deformation of the thermoplastic resin.

A double-switching PTC ink comprises a first resin and a second resin; the first resin provides a first PTC effect within a first temperature range (T1, T2); the second resin provides a second PTC effect within a second temperature range (T3, T4), where T3T2; the first resin has an NTC effect above the first temperature range; the second PTC effect is greater than the first PTC effect; and the second PTC effect overlaps with, and is greater than, the NTC effect of the first resin.

The present invention provides an apparatus having a protecting element for protecting the apparatus in an emergency, wherein the protecting element is a polymer PTC element, the polymer PTC element has a polymer PTC member, and the polymer PTC member is formed from a polymer composition containing a polyvinylidene fluoride as a main component.

An over-current protection device includes a first metal layer, a second metal layer and a heat-sensitive layer laminated therebetween. The heat-sensitive layer exhibits a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) characteristic and includes a first polymer and a conductive filler. The first polymer consists of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), and PVDF exists in different phases such as ?-PVDF, ?-PVDF and ?-PVDF. The total amount of ?-PVDF, ?-PVDF and ?-PVDF is calculated as 100%, and the amount of ?-PVDF accounts for 33% to 42%.

An over-current protection device includes a first metal layer, a second metal layer and a heat-sensitive layer laminated therebetween. The heat-sensitive layer exhibits a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) characteristic and includes a first polymer and a conductive filler. The first polymer consists of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), and PVDF exists in different phases such as ?-PVDF, ?-PVDF and ?-PVDF. The total amount of ?-PVDF, ?-PVDF and ?-PVDF is calculated as 100%, and the amount of ?-PVDF accounts for 48% to 55%. The conductive filler has a metal-ceramic compound.

A double-switching heater includes a double-switching PTC ink deposited on a substrate to form one or more resistors. The double-switching PTC ink has a first resin that provides a first PTC effect at a first temperature range and a second resin that provides a second PTC effect at a second temperature range, where the second temperature range is higher than the first temperature range. The substrate may be a flexible substrate or a rigid substrate, and may bedeformable to generate a three-dimensional structure. The substrate may be: polyester, polyimide, polyamide, polypropylene, thermoplastic polyurethane, fiberglass, cement board, carbon composite materials, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, aluminum, steel, glass composite, molded plastic, high-density polyethylene or styrene ethylene butylene styrene.