Characteristics Improvement of PEDOT:PSS Transparent Conductive Film Prepared by Ink-Jet Printing

Abstract

Recently, a high-performance and low-priced transparent conductive film has been expected to be developed because flexible devices produced using organic materials have been actively studied. An indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film, which has been generally used as a material for a transparent conductive film, has problems, such as fragility to bending stress and depletion of the resource. The present study used poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), an organic electroconductive material, and examined the improvement in the resistance value and visible light transmittance of a transparent conductive film produced using the ink-jet method. In previous studies, we reported that, to improve the resistance value and visible light transmittance of a thin film, it was effective to clean the film substrate with ultraviolet/ozone (UV/O3) treatment, anneal the film after it was deposited on the substance, and dip the annealed film into a polar solvent. Focusing on the thin film processing between printing operations, the present study improved resistance value and visible light transmittance by examining both the application methods of a polar solvent and the annealing time between printing operations. As a result, the resistance value and visible light transmittance of a PEDOT:PSS thin film were 390.4 Ω and 86.6%, respectively. This film was obtained by applying a polar solvent and performing annealing for 30 min between printing operations. The printing was performed three times.