The deformation between interface, adhesion mechanism and the transparency of multi-layer flexible electronics composite were discussed. First, ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), Al (Aluminum) and ZnO (Zinc Oxide) were sputtered on a PET (Poly Ethylene Terephthalate) substrate by PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) sequentially, to form ZnO/ITO/PET and ZnO/Al/PET which is the essential multi-layer structure in the transducer of flexible electronics. ITO/PET structure was widely applied to the touch panel. PET substrate possesses a good optical penetrability, low thermal expansion coefficient and lower price. However, the heat-resisting and chemical stability are poor. In this study, we explore the feasibility of the PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) substrate. It not only possesses good optical penetrability, but also exhibits higher PH selectivity than PET. In the analysis, the periodic external force was pressed on the flexible composite films to realize the difference between before and after experiment. Then the composite films were examined by nanoindentation and nanoscratch system (Berkovich and Conical probe with the radius of curvature of 20nm and 10um), four-point probe and spectrometer to measure the mechanical, electrical and optical properties, respectively. To investigate the effect of external force on these composite films, the interaction of films was discussed through external force testing by nanoscratch test.

Nanoindentation has become a widely used technique to measure the mechanical properties of materials. Due to its capability to deform materials in micro- and nano-scale, nanoindentation has found more applications in characterizing the deformation behavior and determining the mechanical properties of thin films and coatings. This research deals with the characterization of samples received from Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD) and Integran Technologies Inc., Toronto, Canada and the objective of this investigation was to utilize the experimental data obtained from nanoindentation to determine the deformation behavior, mechanical properties of thin films on substrates and bulk materials, and the effect of geometrically different indenters (Berkovich, cubecorner, and conical). X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis were performed on these materials to determine the crystal orientation, grain size of the material, and also to measure any substrate effects like pile-up or sin-in respectively. The results indicate that indentation size effect (ISE) strongly depends on shape of the indenter and less sensitive to penetration depth where as the hardness measurements depends on shape of indenter and depth of penetration. There is a negligible strain rate dependency of hardness at deeper depths and a significant increase in the hardness due to the decrease in grain size and results also indicate that there is no significant substrate effect on thin films for 10% and 20% of film thicknesses. Nanocrystalline material could not validate a dislocation based mechanisms deformation for indentation made by cubecorner and conical indenters in depths less than 1mm.

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