Metal network based glass-fabric reinforced hybrimer transparent conductive film with minimized junction resistance

Abstract

the high transparency (~90%), low sheet resistance (15 $omega$ $sq^{-1}$), and chemical stability make it widely used in modern electronics. However, the fragile nature of oxide material and high-cost vacuum-deposition process preclude it from applying in next-generation flexible electronics. In order to replace the ITO, various candidate materials have been proposed: graphene, carbon nanotube (CNT), conducting polymer, and metal nanowire. Among them, AgNWs are emerged one of the most promising candidate for flexible TCE material due to its high flexibility and comparable optoelectrical property to ITO. However, metal nanowire still has problems to be solved. When nanowires are connected to form a conductive path, NWs should be connected to each other, making junctions. In this regard, the junctions induce junction resistance and surface roughness. The junction resistance degrades the electrical performance of TCE and surface roughness due to the junction can induce device short, which is directly related with device reliability. In this study, we propose a high-performance flexible transparent conductive film by combining thermally stable and mechanically durable GFRHybrimer and electro-spun AgNF. A single-line AgNF network can effectively reduce the number of junctions and avoid unnecessary transmittance degradation, providing superior optoelectrical property ($T_{tot}$ ~ 91% and Rsh = 3 $omega$ $sq^{-1}$). Moreover, the embedding structure with transparent and thermostable hybrimer resin not only solves the aforementioned surface roughness and poor adhesion problems but also improves the thermal (60 h at 250$^\circ C$) and environmental stability (120 h at 85$^\circ C$ 85% RH) by minimizing the exposure area of AgNF. The glass fabric sheets impregnated with hybrimer resin attribute mechanical durability and dimensional stability of the AgNF/GFRHybrimer composite film.

As the world is heading toward the flexible and wearable electronics era, flexibility is also required for transparent conducting electrode (TCE), which is a crucial component of flexible opto-electronic devices. The most commonly used TCE material is indium-doped tin oxide (ITO)