Abstract
The crack formation and the resistance of ITO film on PET substrate with a thickness of 20 ㎚ were investigated as a function of strain. The onset strain for the increase of resistance increased with increasing strain rate, suggesting the crack initiation is dependent on the strain rate. Electrical resistance increased at the strain of 1.6% at the strain rates below 10?⁴/sec while it increased at ~2% at the strain rates above 10?³/sec. The critical strain at which the cracks were formed is close to the proportional limit. Upon loading, the initial cracks perpendicular to the tensile axis were observed and propagated the whole sample width with increasing strain. The spacing between horizontal cracks is thought to be determined by the fracture strength and the interfacial strength between ITO and PET. The crack density increased with increasing strain. However, the effect of the strain rate on the crack density was less pronounced in ITO/PET with 20 ㎚ ITO thickness than ITO/PET with 125 ㎚ ITO thickness, the strength of ITO film is thought to increase as the thickness of ITO film decreases. The absence of cracks on ITO film at a strain as close as 1.5% can be attributed to the compressive residual stress of ITO film which was developed during cooling after the coating process. The higher critical strain for the onset of the resistance increase and the crack initiation of ITO/PET with a thinner ITO film (20 ㎚) can be linked with the higher strength of the thinner ITO film.
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