TY - JOUR

T1 - High performing AgNW transparent conducting electrodes with a sheet resistance of 2.5 Ω Sq−1 based upon a roll-to-roll compatible post-processing technique

AU - Kumar, D.

AU - Stoichkov, V.

AU - Brousseau, E.

AU - Smith, G. C.

AU - Kettle, J.

PY - 2019/3/28

Y1 - 2019/3/28

N2 - The report of transparent and conducting silver nanowires (AgNWs) that produce remarkable electrical performance, surface planarity and environmental stability is given. This research presents an innovative process that relies on three sequential steps, which are roll-to-roll (R2R) compatible; thermal embossing, infrared sintering and plasma treatment. This process leads to the demonstration of a conductive film with a sheet resistance of 2.5Ω/sq and high transmittance, thus demonstrating the highest reported figure-of-merit in AgNWs to date (FoM = 933). A further benefit of the process is that the surface roughness is substantially reduced compared to traditional AgNW processing techniques. Finally, consideration of the long-term stability is given by developing an accelerated life test process that simultaneously stresses the applied bias and temperature. Regression line fitting shows that a ∼150-times improvement in stability is achieved at ‘normal operational conditions’ when compared to traditionally deposited AgNW films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to understand the root cause of the improvement in long-term stability.

AB - The report of transparent and conducting silver nanowires (AgNWs) that produce remarkable electrical performance, surface planarity and environmental stability is given. This research presents an innovative process that relies on three sequential steps, which are roll-to-roll (R2R) compatible; thermal embossing, infrared sintering and plasma treatment. This process leads to the demonstration of a conductive film with a sheet resistance of 2.5Ω/sq and high transmittance, thus demonstrating the highest reported figure-of-merit in AgNWs to date (FoM = 933). A further benefit of the process is that the surface roughness is substantially reduced compared to traditional AgNW processing techniques. Finally, consideration of the long-term stability is given by developing an accelerated life test process that simultaneously stresses the applied bias and temperature. Regression line fitting shows that a ∼150-times improvement in stability is achieved at ‘normal operational conditions’ when compared to traditionally deposited AgNW films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to understand the root cause of the improvement in long-term stability.

UR - http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/c8/nr/c8nr07974a/c8nr07974a1.pdf

U2 - 10.1039/C8NR07974A

DO - 10.1039/C8NR07974A

M3 - Article

VL - 11

SP - 5760

EP - 5769

JO - Nanoscale

JF - Nanoscale

SN - 2040-3364

IS - 12

ER -