Flexible, Stretchable, Transparent Conducting Films Made from Superaligned Carbon Nanotubes

A straightforward roll-to-roll process for fabricating flexible and stretchable superaligned carbon nanotube films as transparent conducting films is demonstrated. Practical touch panels assembled by using these carbon nanotube conducting films are superior in flexibility and wearability and comparable in linearity to touch panels based on indium tin oxide (ITO) films. After suitable laser trimming and deposition of Ni and Au metal, the carbon nanotube film possesses excellent performance with two typical values of sheet resistances and transmittances (208 Omega rectangle(-1), 90% and 24 Omega rectangle(-1), 83.4%), which are comparable to ITO films and better than the present carbon nanotube conducting films in literature. The results provide a route to produce transparent conducting films more easily, effectively, and cheaply, an important step for realizing industrial-scale applications of carbon nanotubes for transparent conducting films.