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Flexible and transparent TiO2/Ag/ITO multilayer electrodes on PET substrates for organic photonic devices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Dae-Hyun Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Nanophotonics, Korea University, Seoul 136-713, Korea
Jun Ho Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-713, Korea
Han-Kyeol Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics, Kyung Hee University, Gyeonggi-do 446-701, Korea
Jin-Young Na
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics, Kyung Hee University, Gyeonggi-do 446-701, Korea
Sun-Kyung Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics, Kyung Hee University, Gyeonggi-do 446-701, Korea
Jeong Hwan Lee
Affiliation:
School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon 440-746, Korea
Sang-Woo Kim
Affiliation:
SKKU Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology (SAINT), Center for Human Interface Nanotechnology (HINT), Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon 440-746, Korea
Young-Zo Yoo
Affiliation:
Duksan Hi-Metal Co. Ltd., Yeonam-dong, Buk-gu, Ulsan 683-804, Korea
Tae-Yeon Seong*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-713, Korea; and Department of Nanophotonics, Korea University, Seoul 136-713, Korea
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: tyseong@korea.ac.kr
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Abstract

We report on the formation of highly flexible and transparent TiO2/Ag/ITO multilayer films deposited on polyethylene terephthalate substrates. The optical and electrical properties of the multilayer films were investigated as a function of oxide thickness. The transmission window gradually shifted toward lower energies with increasing oxide thickness. The TiO2 (40 nm)/Ag (18 nm)/ITO (40 nm) films gave the transmittance of 93.1% at 560 nm. The relationship between transmittance and oxide thickness was simulated using the scattering matrix method to understand high transmittance. As the oxide thickness increased from 20 to 50 nm, the carrier concentration gradually decreased from 1.08 × 1022 to 6.66 × 1021 cm−3, while the sheet resistance varied from 5.8 to 6.1 Ω/sq. Haacke's figure of merit reached a maximum at 40 nm and then decreased with increasing oxide thickness. The change in resistance for the 60 nm-thick ITO single film rapidly increased with increasing bending cycles, while that of the TiO2/Ag/ITO (40 nm/18 nm/40 nm) film remained virtually unchanged during the bending test.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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References

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