High Stable, Transparent and Conductive ZnO/Ag/ZnO Nanofilm Electrodes on Rigid/Flexible Substrates

Here, highly transparent, conductive, and stable ZnO/Ag/ZnO electrodes on transparent rigid glass and flexible substrates were prepared by facile, room-temperature magnetron sputtering, in which the continuous Ag layers were obtained by means of oxidization-induced effect under an Ar atmosphere with tiny amounts of O₂. The results showed an appropriate amount of O₂ was beneficial to form continuous Ag films because of the adsorption of oxygen between the ZnO and Ag layers. When the concentration of O₂ in the Ar atmosphere was 2.0%–3.0%, ZnO (40 nm)/Ag (10 nm)/ZnO (40 nm) films on rigid glass showed visible-range transmittance of 94.8% and sheet resistance of 8.58 Ω¨^sq´1, while the corresponding data on flexible PET substrates were 95.9% and 8.11 Ω¨^sq´1, respectively. In addition, the outstanding electrodes remained stable for more than six months under air conditioned conditions. The electrodes are fully functional as universal rigid/flexible electrodes for high-performance electronic applications.