Mechanical stability of externally deformed indium-tin-oxide films on polymer substrates

Sung Kyu Park, Jeong In Han, Dae Gyu Moon, Won Keun Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

129 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the basic mechanical properties of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) films on polymer substrates which are exposed to externally inducing bending force. By using the Storney formula including the triple layer structure and bulge tests for measuring the conductive changes of patterned ITO islands as a function of bending curvature, the mechanical stability of ITO films on polymer substrates was intensively investigated. Numerical analyses and experimental results show that externally induced mechanical stress in the films depends on substrate material and its thickness, respectively. Therefore, an organic buffer layer was employed to improve the mechanical stability of ITO films, and then, the effects of the buffer layer were quantified in terms of conductivity-strain variations. As a result, it is found that a buffer layer is also a critical factor for determining the magnitude of mechanical stress and that the layer with Young's modulus lower than the specified value can contribute to relieving the mechanical stress of the films.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)623-629
Number of pages7
JournalJapanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 1: Regular Papers and Short Notes and Review Papers
Volume42
Issue number2 A
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2003

Keywords

  • Indium-tin-oxide
  • Mechanical stability
  • Polymer substrate

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