A transparent embedded Cu/Au-nanomesh electrode on flexible polymer film substrates

Abstract

Transparent embedded copper/gold (Cu/Au)-nanomesh electrodes are promising candidates to replace indium tin oxide (ITO). They are fabricated on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flexible polymer film using a transfer process on the scale of 11 mm × 11 mm. Because of the oxidation of copper, Cu-nanomesh electrodes have very low electrical conductivity. In order to solve this problem, we fabricated an electrode using a Cu/Au-bilayer. With the bilayer, we obtained a high transmittance and electric properties at wavelengths of 400–800 nm. Moreover, by controlling the pressure process, we obtained the transferred and embedded metal electrodes. We found that both the optical transmittance and the electrical conductivity of the embedded metal electrode were preserved after 50 000 bending cycles. Consequently, embedded Cu/Au-nanomesh electrodes have good mechanical strength and electrical properties appropriate for flexible transparent electrodes.