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Zarei M, Li M, Medvedeva EE, Sharma S, Kim J, Shao Z, Walker SB, LeMieux M, Liu Q, Leu PW. Flexible Embedded Metal Meshes by Sputter-Free Crack Lithography for Transparent Electrodes and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:6382-6393. [PMID: 38279914 PMCID: PMC10859897 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c16405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
A facile and novel fabrication method is demonstrated for creating flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)-embedded silver meshes using crack lithography, reactive ion etching (RIE), and reactive silver ink. The crack width and spacing in a waterborne acrylic emulsion polymer are controlled by the thickness of the polymer and the applied stress due to heating and evaporation. Our innovative fabrication technique eliminates the need for sputtering and ensures stronger adhesion of the metal meshes to the PET substrate. Crack trench depths over 5 μm and line widths under 5 μm have been achieved. As a transparent electrode, our flexible embedded Ag meshes exhibit a visible transmission of 91.3% and sheet resistance of 0.54 Ω/sq as well as 93.7% and 1.4 Ω/sq. This performance corresponds to figures of merit (σDC/σOP) of 7500 and 4070, respectively. For transparent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, the metal meshes achieve a shielding efficiency (SE) of 42 dB with 91.3% visible transmission and an EMI SE of 37.4 dB with 93.7% visible transmission. We demonstrate the highest transparent electrode performance of crack lithography approaches in the literature and the highest flexible transparent EMI shielding performance of all fabrication approaches in the literature. These metal meshes may have applications in transparent electrodes, EMI shielding, solar cells, and organic light-emitting diodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehdi Zarei
- Department
of Mechanical Engineering, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Mingxuan Li
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Elizabeth E. Medvedeva
- Department
of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Sooraj Sharma
- Department
of Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Jungtaek Kim
- Department
of Industrial Engineering, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Zefan Shao
- Department
of Mechanical Engineering, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - S. Brett Walker
- Electroninks
Incorporated, Austin, Texas 78744, United States
| | - Melbs LeMieux
- Electroninks
Incorporated, Austin, Texas 78744, United States
| | - Qihan Liu
- Department
of Mechanical Engineering, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Paul W. Leu
- Department
of Mechanical Engineering, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
- Department
of Industrial Engineering, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
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