Transparent and Flexible Ag Nanowire Network Covered by a Thin ITO Layer for Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Abstract

We have investigated the characteristics of simple brush-painted Ag nanowire (Ag NW) networks covered by a thin Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) layer for application as transparent and flexible anodes for flexible organic light emitting diodes (FOLEDs). The plasma damage-free sputtering of an ITO cover layer on the percolating Ag NW network effectively filled the uncovered area and improved current spreading in the Ag NWs. Due to the high conductivity of Ag NWs and the bride effect of the ITO cover layer, the sheet resistance (26.07 Ohm/square) of the Ag NW-ITO hybrid anodes is lower than that (31 Ohm/square) of bare Ag NW networks, even though they have a similar optical transmittance. Additional coating of the thin ITO layer on the Ag NW didn't influence the flexibility of the Ag NW network. Similar current density-voltage-luminance characteristics of the FOLED fabricated on an Ag NW-ITO hybrid anode to reference OLED indicate that the Ag NW-ITO hybrid electrode is a promising flexible and transparent anode to substitute for bare Ag NW or ITO anodes in high performance FOLEDs.