title: Hot-rolling nanowire transparent electrodes for surface roughness minimization.
abstract: Silver nanowire transparent electrodes are a promising alternative to transparent conductive oxides. However, their surface roughness presents a problem for their integration into devices with thin layers such as organic electronic devices. In this paper, hot rollers are used to soften plastic substrates with heat and mechanically press the nanowires into the substrate surface. By doing so, the root-mean-square surface roughness is reduced to 7 nm and the maximum peak-to-valley value is 30 nm, making the electrodes suitable for typical organic devices. This simple process requires no additional materials, which results in a higher transparency, and is compatible with roll-to-roll fabrication processes. In addition, the adhesion of the nanowires to the substrate significantly increases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada ; Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hosseinzadeh Khaligh
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada ; Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
authors.forename: Irene A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Goldthorpe
keywords: Adhesion; Hot-rolling; Organic electronics; Silver nanowires; Surface roughness; Transparent electrode