Fabrication of transparent ITO-Ag-ITO electrodes on polyethylene terephthalate substrate by Nd:YVO4 laser direct patterning

Abstract

For the realization of high conductive and transparent electrodes on flexible substrates, indium tin oxide(ITO), Ag, and ITO were sequentially deposited on polyethylene terephthalate(PET) and a Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser was used for direct etching of the ITO-Ag-ITO films. Considering the complementary relationship between transmittance and conductivity, Ag was deposited for different sputtering times and the laser etched results were also compared and analyzed. Considering the laser etched shape, the ITO-Ag-ITO electrodes were patterned with the optimized laser beam condition. From the current-voltage characteristics and multi-meter measurement, much lower resistances were obtained from electrically isolated ITO-Ag-ITO electrode.