Hot-rolling nanowire transparent electrodes for surface roughness minimization

Silver nanowire transparent electrodes are a promising alternative to transparent conductive oxides. However, their surface roughness presents a problem for their integration into devices with thin layers such as organic electronic devices. In this paper, hot rollers are used to soften plastic substrates with heat and mechanically press the nanowires into the substrate surface. By doing so, the root-mean-square surface roughness is reduced to 7 nm and the maximum peak-to-valley value is 30 nm, making the electrodes suitable for typical organic devices. This simple process requires no additional materials, which results in a higher transparency, and is compatible with roll-to-roll fabrication processes. In addition, the adhesion of the nanowires to the substrate significantly increases.