Improvement of Mchanical Property of Indium-tin-oxide Films on Polymer Substrates by using Organic Buffer Layer

This paper gives the basic mechanical properties of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) films on polymer substrates which are exposed to externally and thermally induced bending force. By using modified Storney formula including triple layer structure and bulge test measuring the conductive changes of patterned ITO islands as a function of bending curvature, the mechanical stability of ITO films on polymer substrates was intensively investigated. The numerical analyses and experimental results show thermally and externally induced mechanical stresses in the films are responsible for the difference of thermal expansion between the ITO film and the substrate, and leer substrate material and its thickness, respectively. Therefore, a gradually ramped heating process and an organic buffer layer were employed to improve the mechanical stability, and then, the effects of the buffer layer were also quantified in terms of conductivity-strain variations. As a result, it is uncovered that a buffer layer is also a critical factor determining the magnitude of mechanical stress and the layer with the Young's modulus lower than a specific value can contribute to relieving the mechanical stress of the films.