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.