Development of simple high-resolution embedded printing for transparent metal grid conductors

We developed a simple embedded printing method that is capable of forming high-resolution patterns for transparent metal grid conductors. The simple printing method involves embedding conductive ink in a groove structure formed by nanoimprinting. Since this printing utilizes capillary force, conductive ink easily fills groove structures with small widths of several microns to the sub-micron scale. An embedded pattern with a line width of 300 nm was printed. In addition, a high aspect ratio of 3.1 was achieved with a 1.6 mu m embedded pattern. A prototype transparent conductive film was developed with excellent optical and electrical performances: a high transmittance of 82.7% and a low sheet resistance of 5.1 Omega/sq at a grid width of 3.0 mu m and a grid pitch of 150 mu m. The grid parameters can easily be changed by mold design during the nanoimprint process. The transparent conductive film (TCF) showed excellent bending resistance compared with indium tin oxide. Published by AIP Publishing.