Ultra-Transparent Electrodes

To overcome the limitations of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), I led a team of three scientists and external collaborators to develop a novel class of ultra-transparent conductive electrodes. We utilized a Dielectric-Metal-Dielectric (DMD) architecture, theoretically proposed in the 1970s, and enhanced it with modern microfabrication and material optimization. The design features an ultra-thin silver layer encapsulated between optically matching oxide layers.

Our technical breakthrough involved stabilizing the silver layer with a sputtered seed layer, followed by a sol-gel coated top oxide to ensure scalability and cost-efficiency without sacrificing performance. This was achieved through iterative analytical calculations and numerical simulations paired with thorough material optimization to perfectly encapsulate an ultra-thin silver layer between optically matching oxide layers. This approach yielded unbeatable results: 91% AVTAverage Visible light Transparency and 6 Ω/sqSheet Resistance, significantly outperforming commercial alternatives (82% AVTAverage Visible light Transparency and 7 Ω/sqSheet Resistance).

To further industrialize this technology, I've extended our research through a CHF 0.5M Innosuisse-supported collaboration with CSEM, focusing on long-term environmental stability for renewable energy applications.