Highly bendable transparent electrode using mesh patterned indium tin oxide for flexible electronic devices

Abstract

We developed a highly bendable transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode with mesh pattern for flexible electronic devices. Mesh pattern reduces an effect of tensile stress and propagation of cracks when the electrode is bent. The proposed ITO electrode was fabricated on a polyethylene terephthalate by means of photolithography and wet etching. The bendability was investigated through cyclic bending test. Resistance increase rate of the mesh patterned ITO electrode after 1000 times bending was approximately 9.18 × 102 times as low as that on a plane ITO electrode. In addition, the distinct cracks were not observed on the mesh patterned ITO electrode after cyclic bending. Mesh patterned ITO electrode was applied to a liquid-based organic light-emitting diode (OLED). Even the use of the mesh patterned ITO after 100 times bending, electroluminescence emission was confirmed without obvious damages. These results indicate that the mesh patterned ITO electrode gives an impact in flexible electronic devices.