Session 2D: Inaugural Lectures by Associates/Fellow

Chairperson: H M Antia, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai

From mud cracks to optoelectronic devices – our efforts in translating invention to technology View Presentation

Visibly transparent, yet electrically conducting materials, are rare. Conventionally used tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) glass plates are not only expensive but are also not suitable for flexible displays due to brittle nature of the coating itself. In recent years, many alternative transparent conductors are being developed, some important ones being doped ZnO and conducting polymer films, graphene, carbon nanotube networks, metal nanowire networks and lithographic patterns. In the recent past, a method that makes use of crack network in desiccated colloidal layer as a template for growing metal nanowires has been developed. From early efforts of optimising the method to fabricating and successfully demonstrating almost all optoelectronic devices without the aid of ITO, has been a journey filled with excitement and challenges. The recipe has been extended to many other devices, essentially realising a world of transparent electronics; the most recent example is a transparent and flexible supercapacitor. The presentation will begin with an introduction to the topic providing an overview of the efforts being made in the literature to replace ITO, followed by a description of the various results obtained from the laboratory including a theoretical understanding of the process. The talk will also bring out efforts involved in translating this invention into a technology potentially attractive to industry.