Flexible transparent electrodes formed from template-patterned thin-film silver

Transparent electrodes are a critical component of optoelectronic devices. Here we describe a simple technique for creating flexible, transparent electrodes using an ultrathin layer of silver on top of a commercial optical adhesive – Norland Optical Adhesive 63 (NOA63). 12 nm silver films on top of free-standing NOA63 combine high, haze-free visible-light transparency (up to 79 % at 550 nm) with low sheet-resistance ( ≈ 16 Ω sq−1), and exhibit excellent resilience to bending. Etching the NOA63 base-layer with an oxygen plasma before silver deposition causes the silver to laterally segregate into isolated pillars, resulting in a very large (million-fold) increse in sheet resistance. Hence, by selectively etching NOA63 before metal deposition, insulating regions may be defined within an otherwise conducting silver film, resulting in a differentially conductive film that can serve as a patterned transparent electrode for flexible devices. We will conclude by introducing NorHTE, the Norwegian Open Lab for for High Throughput Experimentation and Scale-Up, a new openly accessible infrastructure for the discovery and production of advanced materials.