Realization of a flexible and mechanically robust Ag mesh transparent electrode and its application in a PDLC device

Abstract

In this paper, flexible Ag electrodes with a hexagonal micromesh structure were fabricated on PET substrate using a photolithography technique. The effect of film thickness on optical and electrical properties of Ag electrodes was investigated systematically. Furthermore, these flexible transparent Ag mesh electrodes were firstly applied to a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) device and its performance was evaluated. All of the Ag electrodes exhibited a high average transmittance of about 80.2–85.0% in the visible range (400–800 nm), and the minimum sheet resistance value reached 8.2 Ω sq⁻¹. The prepared Ag mesh also showed an excellent performance of adhesion and bending, demonstrating its superior durability. The PDLC device based on Ag mesh electrodes showed comparable performance with that using ITO electrodes, indicating that the Ag mesh film can be a good substitution for ITO electrodes in PDLC devices and may find practical application in large area flexible devices.