Highly Stretchable Anisotropic Structures for Flexible Micro/nano-electrode Applications

Abstract

The functionality of flexible metal electrodes relies on the stable performance of a metallic film. In this study, highly stretchable anisotropic structures are designed to investigate the behaviour of silver electrodes on polydimethylsiloxane. Treated using both the oxygen plasma and the surface chemical functionalization technology, the film resistivity was reduced to 5.856 × 10−9 Ω m after annealing at 150 °C for 30 min, which is equal to that of commercial silver films on glass. The maximum variation in the resistance was approximately 5.315 % with a strain of 50 % along the four directions, and the films also show remarkable tolerance to repetitive strain. These results prove the excellent anisotropy performance of these structures to minimize resistive strain sensitivity and thus enable durable flexible electronics.