Highly Thermostable, Flexible, Transparent, and Conductive Films on Polyimide Substrate with an AZO/AgNW/AZO Structure

Flexible transparent conductive films (TCFs) are used in a variety of optoelectronic devices. However, their use is limited due to poor thermostability. We report hybrid TCFs incorporation in both aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and silver nanowires (AgNWs). The layered AZO/AgNWs/AZO structure was deposited onto a transparent polyimide (PI) substrate and displayed excellent thermostability. When heated to 250 degrees C for 1 h, the change in resistivity (R-c) was less than 10% (R-c of pure AgNW film > 500) while retaining good photoelectric properties (R-sh = 8.6 Ohm/sq and T = 74.4%). Layering the AgNW network between AZO films decreased the surface roughness (R-rms < 8 nm) and enhances the mechanical flexibility of the hybrid films. The combination of these characteristics makes the hybrid film an excellent candidate for substrates of novel flexible optoelectronic devices which require high-temperature processing.