Nanocarbon-copper thin film as transparent electrode
- Carderock Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, West Bethesda, Maryland 20817 (United States)
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)
- Materials Science and Engineering Department, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)
Researchers seeking to enhance the properties of metals have long pursued incorporating carbon in the metallic host lattice in order to combine the strongly bonded electrons in the metal lattice that yield high ampacity and the free electrons available in carbon nanostructures that give rise to high conductivity. The incorporation of carbon nanostructures into the copper lattice has the potential to improve the current density of copper to meet the ever-increasing demands of nanoelectronic devices. We report on the structure and properties of carbon incorporated in concentrations up to 5 wt. % (∼22 at. %) into the crystal structure of copper. Carbon nanoparticles of 5 nm–200 nm in diameter in an interconnecting carbon matrix are formed within the bulk Cu samples. The carbon does not phase separate after subsequent melting and re-solidification despite the absence of a predicted solid solution at such concentrations in the C-Cu binary phase diagram. This material, so-called, Cu covetic, makes deposition of Cu films containing carbon with similar microstructure to the metal possible. Copper covetic films exhibit greater transparency, higher conductivity, and resistance to oxidation than pure copper films of the same thickness, making them a suitable choice for transparent conductors.
- OSTI ID:
- 22399058
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 19; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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