Flash light sintering of ag mesh films for printed transparent conducting electrode

Abstract

Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) are fabricated through the flash light sintering of reverse-offset printed Agmesh patterns. Interestingly, the narrower printing lines require a higher flash light energy to obtain an equivalent sheet resistance even if the same Ag nanoparticle ink is used. The microstructural development of sintered Ag nanoparticles is also retardedwith the decrease of linewidth after the same flash light sintering. The temperature calculation in the Ag mesh patterns clearly reveals that heat dissipation is affected by the print dimension. To improve the performance of Agmesh TCEs with 3 mu m wide lines, a preheating step comprised ofmulti-pulses is inserted before a main flash light sintering. The multi-pulsed flash light sintering is effective in decreasing the sample temperature and in removing the substrate damages or microstructural defects. As a result, the flash light-sintered Ag mesh TCEs shows a sheet resistance of 27 Omega/square and an optical transmittance of 84.7% including an optical transmittance of substrate. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.