Nanocarbon-copper thin film as transparent electrode

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2015-05, Vol.106 (19)
Main Authors: Isaacs, R. A., Zhu, H., Preston, Colin, Mansour, A., LeMieux, M., Zavalij, P. Y., Jaim, H. M. Iftekhar, Rabin, O., Hu, L., Salamanca-Riba, L. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physics
Bonding strength
CARBON
CONCENTRATION RATIO
CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
Conductors
COPPER
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
CURRENT DENSITY
DEPOSITION
ELECTRONS
Free electrons
MELTING
MICROSTRUCTURE
Nanoelectronics
NANOPARTICLES
Nanostructure
NANOSTRUCTURES
Nanotechnology devices
OPACITY
OXIDATION
Oxidation resistance
PHASE DIAGRAMS
SOLID SOLUTIONS
SOLIDIFICATION
Thickness
THIN FILMS
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4921263