Transparent conductor based on metal ring clusters interface with uniform light transmission for excellent microwave shielding

We present a transparent conductor composed of the flower-shaped multi-angle metal ring clusters (FMMRC) interface structure for simultaneous highly optical transparency with uniform light transmission and microwave shielding performance both theoretically and experimentally. The measured normalized optical transmittance of the FMMRC sample is ~95% covering the visible to near infrared spectra with a sheet resistance of ~5.6 Ω/sq., offering favorable conductivity as a transparent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding component. Particularly, the FMMRC structure shows a uniform light transmission with a homogeneous high-order diffraction distribution which introduces negligible impact on optical imaging and observation. In the meantime, both simulations and experimental results demonstrate the shielding effectiveness of the FMMRC structure is >21 dB from 12 to 18 GHz, obtaining an excellent shielding performance for a single-layer metal structure with high optical transmittance. The proposed FMMRC is insensitive to the polarization direction due to the symmetrical arrangement. These excellent properties of the FMMRC structure represents the highest figure of merit single-layer metallic mesh ever reported, showing great potential in transparent EMI devices as well as transparent electrodes.