Ultra-mechanically stable and transparent conductive electrodes using transferred grid of Ag nanowires on flexible substrate

Abstract

Mechanically ultra-robust, transparent and flexible electrodes assembled from silver nanowires (Ag NWs) are presented. Highly aligned NWs embedded in ultrathin (100 nm thick) adhesive are demonstrated for ultra-mechanical stability, negligible hysteresis against harsh bending on 0.15 mm radius of curvature. Instead of random arrangement, we utilize a grid array structure of NWs fabricated from multiple transfer printing. The grid structure allows to have low areal fraction, which leads to high transmittance, yet low sheet resistance, i.e. improved opto-electrical performance comparing with the random arrangement. In addition, a simplified lithography method of NW array is demonstrated. We strongly believe that such flexible and transparent electrodes can be used in many applications including optoelectronic devices and flexible/wearable electronics. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved