This paper shows results of research on transparent electrode manufacturing processes using thermal imprinting and IPL technique. By using an IPL process instead of the existing heat sintering process, the sheet resistance value was reduced to about 1/ 10. Additionally, sintering time could be reduced from 1 hour to 1 ms. As a result of measuring the transmittance to determine the excellence of the transparent electrode produced in this way, it was confirmed that it had a high transmittance of 94.4% compared to the substrate with a very high bending stability compared to the existing ITO transparent electrode. These results show that the transparent electrode manufacturing method proposed in this study is very useful.

The purpose of this study was to develop a selective patterning process with functional nanoparticles, using the selective hydrophobic treatment which can give surface energy differences. It is important to selectively pattern the nanoparticles in solution, to the desired site in a variety of fields such as transparent electrodes, displays, and bio-sensors. Selective hydrophobic treatment can reduce the additional post processes such as cleaning to remove particles unwanted position, which is a drawback of the existing solution process. Various patterns with sub-micron size that can’t be achieved with other solution processes could be fabricated by nanoimprint lithography, selective surface treatment, and a solution coating process. The transparent conductive electrode (TCE) using silver mesh patterns on the flexible substrate created from our study showed 24 Ω of sheet resistance and more than 82% transmittance. To verify the possibility of nano-patterning of various materials, quantum dot (QD) was also patterned by selectively filling. Selective surface treatment technology has significantly improved the filling process of nanoparticles into fine patterns less than 1 μm wide.

There are two well-known synthetic approaches for copper nanowires (CuNWs): ethylenediamine (EDA)-mediated synthesis and alkylamine-mediated synthesis. The alkylamine-mediated synthesis produces very high aspect ratio nanowires but requires an autoclave for high-pressure environments, and a long reaction time, which normally is above 12 hours. The EDA-mediated synthesis can be carried out under normal conditions and requires 30 min. The CuNWs produced by this method have an average aspect ratio lower than 1000 and are produced in a lower yield. In this paper, the researchers present a modified EDA-mediated synthesis to improve the yield and reduce the synthesis time. When NaOH and Cu(NO3)2 were replaced with KOH and CuCl2, respectively and the reaction temperature was kept at room temperature, the synthesis time was shortened to 15 min. Moreover, the aspect ratio of the as-synthesized Cu NWs increased to 650 and the synthesis yields raised from 17.73% to 80.16%.

This paper introduces a facile method to enhance the functionality of a patterned metallic transparent conductor through selective laser ablation of the metal nanowire percolation network. By scanning focused nanosecond pulsed laser a on copper nanowire percolation network, the copper nanowires are selectively ablated and patterned without resorting to any conventional chemical etching or photolithography steps. Several arbitrary patterns of copper nanowire transparent conductors are readily created on the percolation network by changing various laser parameters, such as repetition rate and power. Finally, in a few seconds, the copper nanowire electrode is continuously ablated to a 1 × 1 mm square area. This research thereby proves the advantage of the laser fabrication method.