Method for fusing nanowire junctions in conductive films

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9925616-B2
Application number	US-201414567983-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 11, 2014
Priority date	Dec 23, 2013
Publication date	Mar 27, 2018
Grant date	Mar 27, 2018

Abstract

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, a method for fusing metal nanowire junctions in a conductive film includes applying a constant current through the conductive film including a plurality of metal nanowires and a plurality of metal nanowire junctions, or conducting an ultrasonic welding of the metal nanowire junctions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for fusing metal nanowire junctions in a conductive film, the method comprising:
applying a constant current with a constant linear current density selected from 0.01 A/cm to 1 A/cm through the conductive film for a duration selected from 10 ms to 10 s to generate heat, the conductive film comprising a plurality of metal nanowires and a plurality of metal nanowire junctions, and
fusing the metal nanowire junctions with the heat.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying of the constant current is through a pair of electrodes facing each other.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying of the constant current is through two or more pairs of electrodes.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive film is coated on a glass substrate or a plastic substrate.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive film is coated on a rigid substrate, a flexible substrate, or a stretchable substrate.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive film is coated on an optically transparent substrate or an opaque substrate.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying of the constant current through the conductive film comprises:
applying the constant current on a first section of the conductive film;
advancing the conductive film; and
applying the constant current on a second section of the conductive film.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying of the constant current is performed as part of a roll-to-roll process, and a speed of advancement of the roll is varied to control a treatment time of the film.

9. A method for fusing metal nanowire junctions in a conductive film, the method comprising:
conducting an ultrasonic welding of the conductive film to generate heat, the conductive film comprising a plurality of metal nanowires and a plurality of metal nanowire junctions, and
fusing the metal nanowire junctions with the heat.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the ultrasonic welding is conducted at a frequency of 10 to 400 kHz.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the conducting of the ultrasonic welding is through two or more ultrasonic heads.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the array of ultrasonic heads are in contact with the conductive film during the conducting of the ultrasonic welding.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the array of ultrasonic heads are separated from the conductive film by an air gap during the conducting of the ultrasonic welding.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the conductive film is coated on a glass substrate or a plastic substrate.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the conductive film is coated on a rigid substrate, a flexible substrate, or a stretchable substrate.

16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the conductive film is coated on an optically transparent substrate or an opaque substrate.

17. The method of claim 9 , wherein the conducting of the ultrasonic welding of the conductive film comprises:
conducting the ultrasonic welding on a first section of the conductive film;
advancing the conductive film; and
conducting the ultrasonic welding on a second section of the conductive film.

18. The method of claim 9 , wherein the conducting of the ultrasonic welding is performed as part of a roll-to-roll process, and a speed of advancement of the roll is varied to control a treatment time of the film.

19. A method of manufacturing a device, comprising:
applying at least one of a constant current or an ultrasonic welding through a conductive film to generate heat, the conductive film comprising a plurality of metal nanowires and a plurality of metal nanowire junctions, and
fusing the metal nanowire junctions with the heat,
wherein the device is a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting device, a solar photovoltaic, a touch screen, or an electrochromic oxide-based film, and
wherein the constant current has a constant linear current density selected from 0.01 A/cm to 1 A/cm and is applied for a duration selected from 10 ms to 10 s.

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Galela Jennifer J
• Xue Jiuzhi

Classifications

• B23K11/0026

  Welding of thin articles · CPC title

• B23K11/16

  taking account of the properties of the material to be welded · CPC title

• B23K20/10

  making use of vibrations, e.g. ultrasonic welding · CPC title

• B23K20/002

  specially adapted for particular articles or work (B23K20/129 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B23K11/008 Primary

  Manufacturing of metallic grids or mats by spot welding · CPC title