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Transparent electrodes

Fractal future

Nature Photonics volume 8, page 817 (2014)Cite this article

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Fractals are beautiful patterns based on the principle of self-similarity. Well-known examples include the branching arrangements of trees, river networks or blood vessels. Now researchers have discovered that fractals can be put to good use in photonics by creating transparent ultrathin metallic electrodes with superior optoelectronic properties.

Transparent electrodes based on conducting oxides such as indium tin oxide or zinc oxide play a crucial role in devices like solar cells, LEDs and displays. However their performance is far from ideal; they are costly, brittle and not well suited to use with some organic materials. As a result, much research is devoted to finding alternatives. One option being explored is the use of ultrathin metal layers. Farzaneh Afshinmanesh and co-workers at the Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials in Stanford, USA as well as the Institute of Photonic Sciences and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies in Barcelona, Spain have demonstrated that ultrathin aluminium electrodes formed with a fractal geometry have optoelectronic properties superior to their metal counterparts in a grating or grid geometry (Nano Lett. 14, 5068–5074; 2014).

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  1. Maria Maragkou
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Maragkou, M. Fractal future. Nature Photon 8, 817 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2014.257

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