Optical and electrical investigations of rubbing assisted few-layer graphene thin film for feasibility of flexible electrode

Abstract

Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) are key components in optoelectronic devices. The commonly used materials for this purpose are indium tin oxide (ITO) and fluorine-doped indium tin oxide (FTO). However, they have limited application for flexible optoelectronic devices due to their brittleness nature. Among various alternatives of TCE materials, graphene has been considered as a good choice owing to its extraordinary properties, such as excellent optical transparency, electrical conductivity mechanical strength along with layer stability on various substrates. In the present work, few-layer graphene (FLG) films have been deposited on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheets by rubbing technique at room temperature. The prepared samples were characterized using Optical transparency, Raman spectroscopy, Atomic force microscopy, bending test, and sheet resistance measurements to optimize rubbing parameters. The fabricated FLG films on PET substrate exhibited a sheet resistance 400 Ω/sq. with transmittance ∼60 % indicating its promising application as a flexible transparent conducting electrode in optoelectronic devices.