SBIR Phase I: Nanostructured Composite Transparent Electrodes for Touch Panels

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop the technology necessary to pattern transparent conductive films previously developed by our group, allowing them to be integrated into functional consumer devices, such as capacitive and resistive touch sensors for flexible displays. Our team currently makes transparent conductive films based on silver nanowire technology. Silver nanowire meshes represent one of the most promising technologies to replace tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) in consumer devices. Films utilizing silver nanowires offer several advantages over ITO including lower cost, flexibility, and durability. For these bulk films to be useful in most applications, they need to be patterned into electrical circuits. This project focuses on the feasibility of direct laser patterning of these transparent conductive films for lab scale touch sensor development, as well as developing lithographic methods that will be compatible with processing techniques used in the electronics industry. Once these processes have been developed, we will create prototype touch sensors using these conductive films, demonstrating their use in one of many commercial applications to which this technology can be applied. The broader/commercial impact of this project lies in both the development of the patterning technology itself, as well as the ability to turn our existing conductive film into a working electronic component. By enabling the integration of raw material into a working component, this research will allow for the integration in an actual touch screen device. Such demonstrations will allow the company to gain inroads with manufacturers of electronics that make use of touch sensor technology, permitting these manufacturers to begin integration of our transparent conductor technology into their products. Beyond these impacts, the research on lithographic patterning of nanowire films will push the patterning technology further, transitioning from a low-throughput, time-intensive method (direct laser patterning) to a high-throughput, accepted industry standard (lithography). Because most electronics manufacturers already process ITO lithographically, developing this technique will enable our materials to be a direct replacement for ITO in current manufacturing lines, eliminating the need for costly retooling.