High-performance flexible transparent conductive thin films on PET substrates with a CuM/AZO structure

Abstract

Hybrid transparent conductive thin films (TCFs) with a bilayer structure composed of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and Cu micro-mesh (CuM) are prepared on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. The AZO layers are deposited by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The CuM is fabricated by UV-lithography and DC magnetron sputtering. The optical properties and conductivity can be modified by the thickness of CuM, and the conduction mechanism involving metal Cu–AZO carrier injection is proposed. The flexible CuM/AZO composite thin films exhibit outstanding optoelectronic performance, with the best figure of merit\u2009≈\u20091247 (at average optical transmittance of 85.8%, sheet resistance of 1.9 Ω/sq. and resistivity of 1.89\u2009×\u200910−4 Ω·cm), as well as excellent mechanical flexibility. The resulting hybrid TCFs with CuM/AZO composite structure show potential applications in flexible electronics, organic light emitting diodes and photovoltaic devices.