Liquid crystal devices incorporating transparent Zn, Sn co-doped In₂O₃ electrodes prepared by direct inkjet-printing of nanosized particles

Abstract

We demonstrate inkjet-printed transparent Zn, Sn co-doped In2O3 (IZTO) films using nanosized IZTO ink as a transparent electrode for liquid crystal (LC) devices. By adjusting the IZTO droplet pitch and line pitch, we can produce directly patterned IZTO electrodes without using a conventional photolithography process. Effective connections between IZTO nanoparticles created by a rapid thermal annealing process resulted in a sheet resistance of ∼200 Ω/square and an optical transmittance of 89.45%, which is acceptable for LC cell fabrication. Stable and reliable electro-optical performance of the twisted nematic LC cells fabricated on the inkjet-printed IZTO films indicates that a directly patterned IZTO film formed by inkjet printing is a promising option for creating printable transparent electrodes for cost-efficient LC cells.