Investigation of silver nanowires with a PEDOT:PSS layer for haze reduction

Abstract

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are often used as transparent electrodes because they contribute sheet resistance and mechanical flexibility to the electrodes. However, the optical haze still needs to be improved in order for AgNWs to be suitable for display applications. In this study, we investigated the optimal structure of AgNW films with a capping layer for reducing haze. We investigated the haze of AgNWs covered by poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxithiophene):poly (styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and/or indium tin oxide (ITO), which were simulated to investigate the reduction of haze in the visible spectrum. A finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation showed that optimized Ag- NWs with an insulating capping layer showed less optical haze than AgNW films alone. The haze reduction was 6 % maximum for a AgNW with a radius of 70 nm with 20-nm-thick PEDOT:PSS added. Also, a haze reduction of 0.7 % was achieved by adding the surrounding PEDOT:PSS with a thickness of 20 nm, and one of 0.3 % was achieved as the thickness of PEDOT:PSS was increased from 20 nm to 60 nm when the radius of the AgNW was fixed at 20 nm. From the simulation results, we confirmed that the capping layer was responsible for the haze reduction.