Flash Lamp Sintering and Optoelectronic Performance of Silver Nanowire Transparent Conductive Films

Silver nanowire transparent conductive films (AgNW TCFs), as a promising new generation of transparent electrode materials poised to replace ITO, have long been plagued by inadequate optoelectronic performance. Herein, flash lamp sintering was used to facilitate rapid welding of TCFs, and the effects of process parameters and TCFs' characteristics on the sintering outcomes were investigated. The leveraging of millisecond-scale intense light pulses of flash lamp sintering can achieve the rapid welding of AgNWs, thereby enhancing the optoelectronic performance of TCFs. The TCFs fabricated from 30 nm diameter AgNWs with an initial sheet resistance of 111 Ω/sq exhibited a reduced sheet resistance of 57 Ω/sq post-sintering, while maintaining a transmittance of 93.3%. The quality factor increased from 4.56 × 10^-3 to 9.09 × 10^-3 Ω^-1, and the surface roughness decreased from 6.12 to 5.19 nm after sintering. This work holds significant promise for advancing the continuous production of AgNW TCFs using flash lamp sintering technology, potentially paving the way for high-quality, low-cost, and rapid manufacturing of AgNW TCFs.