A flexible, transparent conductor made of ultrathin metal could replace the conductor indium tin oxide (ITO) in solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and electronic displays.
The key to this new conductor is destructive interference — and very, very thin layers. Researchers led by Valerio Pruneri, a professor of optoelectronics at the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology in Spain, sandwiched a smooth film of silver between titanium oxide and aluminum-doped zinc oxide to create a low-resistance, highly conductive film that allows more than 98% of visible light to pass through. Destructive interference cancels out the light reflected by each layer to achieve such high optical transmission.
Because it is flexible and can be synthesized at room temperature, the film is a good candidate for roll-to-roll production, Pruneri says. Room temperature synthesis also means that the conductor can be integrated with electronic devices that cannot withstand high temperatures, he says.
Ultrathin metals have been considered before as possible trans-parent conductors because of their low resistance, but they are too reflective to be ideal, Pruneri says....
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