A simple transparent electrode fabrication method by filling in Ag composites into scratch gap

Abstract

In this work, we demonstrate a simple and cheap process for the fabrication of transparent electrodes. We scratched the surface of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to create 0.5 mm-, 1 mm-, and 2.0 mm-deep gaps to form a crossed grid; we then filled the gaps with a Ag composite and analyzed the optical and thermoelectrical properties of the system by infrared spectroscopy, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. We then plotted the current-voltage curves derived from connecting the system to a battery and assessed the electrical properties, as well as the Joule heating derived from current transmission. We discovered that the Joule heating was more dependent on the current than the voltage of the skin; this knowledge was applied by employing our circuit on a wearable heating device, which demonstrated the ability to heat the skin underneath when stimulated with a 0.6 A current and 9 V. Finally, we also demonstrated the applicability of our PDMS-supported Ag circuit by connecting it to a battery, and employing the circuit to illuminate an LED light.