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Updated: Dec 17, 2025
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A Fabrication Method for Highly Stretchable Conductors with Silver Nanowires
Published on: January 21, 2016
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Gentle plasma process for embedded silver-nanowire flexible transparent electrodes on temperature-sensitive polymer
Lukas Kinner1, Emil J W List-Kratochvil, Theodoros Dimopoulos
1AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Center for Energy, Photovoltaic Systems, Vienna, Austria. Institut für Physik, Institut für Chemie & IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Nanotechnology
|June 26, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a new method for creating flexible, transparent silver nanowire (AgNW) electrodes on PET substrates. This technique enhances conductivity and stability, paving the way for advanced electronic devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Flexible Electronics
Background:
- Highly conductive and transparent electrodes are crucial for flexible electronic devices.
- Traditional methods often use rigid substrates or less stable materials.
- Silver nanowires (AgNWs) offer potential but require optimized processing for stability and conductivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate processing routes for highly conductive and transparent AgNW electrodes on flexible PET.
- To embed AgNWs in a UV-curable polymer for reduced roughness and enhanced stability.
- To enable device integration by ensuring AgNWs partially protrude after embedding and transfer.
Main Methods:
- Embedding AgNWs into a UV-curable polymer on a host substrate.
- Utilizing a gentle AgNW plasma curing method compatible with temperature-sensitive substrates.
- Transferring embedded AgNW electrodes from flexible host substrates (polyimide and PET) to a final PET substrate.
Main Results:
- Achieved embedded AgNW electrodes with optical transmittance of ~80% and sheet resistance of ~13 Ω/sq.
- Demonstrated successful transfer from both polyimide-to-PET and PET-to-PET flexible substrates.
- Embedded AgNW electrodes on PET exhibited superior performance in bending tests compared to Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO) electrodes.
Conclusions:
- Developed a versatile fabrication sequence using flexible host substrates and plasma curing for AgNW electrodes.
- The approach is compatible with low-cost flexible substrates and high-throughput roll-to-roll processing.
- The resulting electrodes show promise for applications requiring flexible, transparent, and durable conductive films.
