Flexible Aluminum‐Doped Zinc Oxide/Cu Mesh/Aluminum‐Doped Zinc Oxide Tri‐Layer Films for Transparent Electrodes

Flexible transparent conductive films (TCFs) are essential components of wearable and flexible electronic devices. However, the limited heat resistance of flexible substrates restricts the film deposition temperature, often causing the electrical conductivity of room‐temperature‐deposited films to fall short of practical application requirements. In this study, an aluminum‐doped zinc oxide (AZO)/Cu mesh/AZO multilayer composite film was successfully fabricated on a flexible polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrate at room temperature using magnetron sputtering and photolithography. Utilizing optimized mesh parameters featuring a line width of 10 μm and a side length of 100 μm, the resulting flexible film exhibited an average visible transmittance of 84.69%, a low sheet resistance of 59.25 Ω sq −1 , and a figure of merit reaching 0.0032 Ω −1 . Mechanical stability tests revealed that the top AZO layer effectively protects the internal metal layer, endowing the film with excellent friction resistance and making it suitable for small‐angle bending scenarios. Furthermore, the successful application of this film in transparent conductive wires and transparent touch switches comprehensively validates its practical potential in flexible transparent electronic and electrothermal devices.