Encapsulation of locally welded silver nanowire with water-free ALD-SbOx for flexible thin-film transistors

Yang J, Bahrami A, Ding X, Lehmann S, Nielsch K (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Applied Physics Letters American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Book Volume: 121

Article Number: 163504

Journal Issue: 16

DOI: 10.1063/5.0118500

Abstract

Transparent conductive electrodes are essential in the application of flexible electronics. In this work, we successfully demonstrated a novel strategy for improving mechanical/electrical properties of indium tin oxide (ITO)-free flexible silver nanowire (Ag NW) thin films. To reduce the contact resistance of Ag NWs, an ethanol-mist was used to weld the cross junction of wires at room temperature. The nano-welded Ag NWs (W-Ag NWs) were then coated with an aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) solution, which significantly reduce the roughness of the Ag NW thin film. Finally, an ultrathin SbOx thin film of 2 nm was deposited on the film surface using a water-free low-temperature atomic layer deposition technique to protect the W-Ag NW/AZO layer from water or oxygen degradation. The treated Ag NWs have a high transmittance of 87% and a low sheet resistance of about 15 ω/sq, which is comparable with the ITO electrode's property. After 1000 cycles of bending testing, the W-Ag NW/AZO/SbOx film practically retains its initial conductivity. Furthermore, the samples were immersed in a solution with pH values ranging from 3 to 13 for 5 min. When compared to untreated Ag NWs or those coated with AlOx thin films, W-Ag NW/AZO/SbOx had superior electrical stability. The W-Ag NW/AZO/SbOxlayer was integrated as a gate electrode on low-power operating flexible Ti-ZnO thin film transistors (TFTs). The 5% Ti-ZnO TFT has a field-effect mobility of 19.7 cm2 V s-1, an Ion/Ioff ratio of 107, and a subthreshold swing of 147 mV decade-1.

Involved external institutions

Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung Dresden e.V. (IFW) / Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden

Germany (DE) Shanghai University / 上海大学 (SHU)

China (CN)

How to cite

APA:

Yang, J., Bahrami, A., Ding, X., Lehmann, S., & Nielsch, K. (2022). Encapsulation of locally welded silver nanowire with water-free ALD-SbOx for flexible thin-film transistors. Applied Physics Letters, 121(16). https://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0118500

MLA:

Yang, Jun, et al. "Encapsulation of locally welded silver nanowire with water-free ALD-SbOx for flexible thin-film transistors." Applied Physics Letters 121.16 (2022).

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