Patterning of micro-scale conductive networks using reel-to-reel flexographic printing

The flexographic printing process has been employed to print micro-scale conductive networks. These networks have been utilised to reduce the sheet resistance of a coated transparent conductive layer on a flexible substrate, while limiting the effect on the apparent transparency. The orientation and the width of the conductive tracks within the networks were varied to identify any effect on the resulting sheet resistance. The orientation was shown to a have minimal effect on the resulting sheet resistance. Track width affected the conductivity; thinner tracks resulted in networks with lower sheet resistance per area coverage. Conductive tracks within networks of 74.6 μm width and 0.74 μm height, resulting in a sheet resistance of 1.26 Ω/□ at 18.6% coverage have been achieved.