View article

Metal nanowire films are among the most promising alternatives for next-generation flexible, solution-processed transparent conductors. Breakthroughs in nanowire synthesis and processing have reported low sheet resistance (R_s ≤ 100 Ω/sq) and high optical transparency (%T > 90%). Comparing the merits of the various nanowires and fabrication methods is inexact, because R_s and %T depend on a variety of independent parameters including nanowire length, nanowire diameter, areal density of the nanowires and contact resistance between nanowires. In an effort to account for these fundamental parameters of nanowire thin films, this paper integrates simulations and experimental results to build a quantitatively predictive model. First, by fitting the results from simulations of quasi-2D rod networks to experimental data from well-defined nanowire films, we obtain an effective average contact resistance, which is …