Engineering Silver Nanowire Networks: From Transparent Electrodes to Resistive Switching Devices

Metal nanowires (NWs) networks with high conductance have shown potential applications in modern electronic components, especially the transparent electrodes over the past decade. In metal NW networks, the electrical connectivity of nanoscale NW junction can be modulated for various applications. In this work, silver nanowire (Ag NW) networks were selected to achieve the desired functions. The Ag NWs were first synthesized by a classic polyol process, and spin-coated on glass to fabricate transparent electrodes. The as-fabricated electrode showed a sheet resistance of 7.158 Ω □^-1 with an optical transmittance of 79.19% at 550 nm, indicating a comparable figure of merit (FOM, or Φ_TC) (13.55 × 10^-3 Ω^-1). Then, two different post-treatments were designed to tune the Ag NWs for not only transparent electrode but also for threshold resistive switching (RS) application. On the one hand, the Ag NW film was mechanically pressed to significantly improve the conductance by reducing the junction resistance. On the other hand, an Ag@AgO_x core-shell structure was deliberately designed by partial oxidation of Ag NWs through simple ultraviolet (UV)-ozone treatment. The Ag core can act as metallic interconnect and the insulating AgO_x shell acts as a switching medium to provide a conductive pathway for Ag filament migration. By fabricating Ag/Ag@AgO_x/Ag planar structure, a volatile threshold switching characteristic was observed and an on/off ratio of ∼100 was achieved. This work showed that through different post-treatments, Ag NW network can be engineered for diverse functions, transforming from transparent electrodes to RS devices.