Optimizing ultrathin Ag films for high performance oxide-metal-oxide flexible transparent electrodes through surface energy modulation and template-stripping procedures.

ABSTRACT: Among new flexible transparent conductive electrode (TCE) candidates, ultrathin Ag film (UTAF) is attractive for its extremely low resistance and relatively high transparency. However, the performances of UTAF based TCEs critically depend on the threshold thickness for growth of continuous Ag films and the film morphologies. Here, we demonstrate that these two parameters could be strongly altered through the modulation of substrate surface energy. By minimizing the surface energy difference between the Ag film and substrate, a 9 nm UTAF with a sheet resistance down to 6.9 Ω sq^-1 can be obtained using an electron-beam evaporation process. The resultant UTAF is completely continuous and exhibits smoother morphologies and smaller optical absorbances in comparison to the counterpart

SUBMITTER: Yang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5349598 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature