In situ observation of structure and electrical property changes of a Ga-doped ZnO/graphene flexible transparent electrode during deformation

Ga-doped ZnO (GZO)/graphene multilayer film was fabricated on the polyethylene terephthalate substrate at room temperature. The obtained GZO/graphene multilayer showed a transparence of 75% at 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 721 Ω/sq. Our findings indicate that the graphene intermediate layer plays a critical role in improving the conductivities of GZO. Under a tensile strain, the sheet resistance of the GZO electrode without graphene exhibited a sharp increase owing to the plenty of cracks formed in the GZO layer. In contrast, the GZO/graphene multilayer displayed a relatively stable and low resistance during the tensile deformation due to the excellent mechanical and electrical stabilities of the graphene.