Laser perforated ultrathin metal films for transparent electrode applications

Transmittance and conductivity are the key requirements for transparent electrodes. Many optoelectronic applications require additional features such as mechanical flexibility and cost-efficient fabrication at low temperatures. Here we demonstrate a simple method to fabricate high performance transparent electrodes that is based on perforation of thin silver layers using picosecond laser pulses. Transparent electrodes have been characterized optically and electrically in order to determine the influence of specific surface coverage. Special attention was paid to maintaining sufficient conductivity in the metal-free areas. As a result, transmittance of a much higher bandwidth was achieved as compared to unpatterned metal films. Transparent electrodes have been fabricated on glass and plastic foil, as well as wafer-based silicon heterojunction solar cells, demonstrating their applicability for most relevant cases.